The Tale of Two Sisters (Book 1 of: The Equestrian Tales)
by Dawnfrost Flitter
Summary: Everypony knows the story of Twilight and her friends, but what nopony knows, is that there is another half to that story... Follow Dawnfrost Flitter and her friends as they face new dangers that put the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance, and discover one of the princesses' greatest secrets... One that can bring the end of Equestria, forever...
1. Chapter 1: The First Rays of Dawn

**Hello. This is officially the first story I have ever written, so please feel free to criticize it. Also these first few chapters might go a little fast, and that's because I feel like nopony wants to spent hours reading boring backstories. This story is based off of a story on called** _ **Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element**_ **by Mr Master B. In fact it was that story that inspired me to write mine, so be sure to check it out! Anyway, I hope you like my story. Please don't give up on it, because it does get better the further you get.**

 **Me from the future: I've come back from between Chapters 19 and 20 to tell you that it really** _ **does**_ **get better the further you get. Once you reach the later chapters, you'll notice that I have gotten better at details and descriptions. Even if you don't think you'll like this story, at least try to finish through Chapter 15, because Chapters 14 and 15 are the** _ **BIGGEST**_ **plot twist that I believe has ever been made! Anyway, I just came back to tell you to stick with it because this story's worth it in the end. I hope you all enjoy it, and** _ **I'll see y'all on the brighter side of everything!**_

Okay, listen carefully, because we don't have much time before Nightshade helps bring the end of Equestria and I'm banished forever. Me and my twin sister, Nightshade Falls, are alicorns. You may be wondering, _"How did you two come to be alicorns?"_ Be patient, because we're just getting started. I am Dawnfrost Flitter, and this is my story. A story about Harmony's end, and possibly the end of all of Equestria.

About 40 years ago, our mom, a unicorn named Shadowlily, was sitting at a café in Canterlot reading and enjoying the sunshine as a soft breeze stirred the morning air. Suddenly, a pegasus named Winterbreeze came spiraling out of the sky to crash into Shadowlily's table, sending her book flying.

"Are you okay?" She said, trying not to giggle while she caught her book with her magic.

"I'm quite fine, the amazing pegasus Winterbreeze at your service milady," he said as he stood up and knelt in an exaggerated fashion.

Shadowlily giggled and replied, "So you're a pegasus that's amazing at crashing?"

"Oh, no! This was just a tiny bit of bad luck!" He responded, faking an offended look.

The two ponies continued to talk to each other and eventually became friends. Then, one day they realized that they had a bond stronger than friendship. They were in love. Eventually, they got married and bought a small book shop on a street corner where the worked everyday. One day, they were having a picnic in the park, Shadowlily was listening to Winterbreeze telling her the story of what caused him to crash land into her table.

"I was flying past Canterlot on my way to Manehattan to find a new place to live in the big city," he explained, acting out his story, "then all of a sudden there was this huge gust of wind that blew past and knocked me into an out of control spiral, right into your table."

"But how was there a gust of wind? The air was completely still all day!" Shadowlily exclaimed.

"I know! I don't even know what exactly happened," Winterbreeze replied.

"Well the weather is a pretty unpredictable—YIPE!" Shadowlily abruptly stopped talking as she collapsed to the ground.

"Lily!" Shouted Winterbreeze as he scooped her up with his fore-hooves and flew her to the hospital.

Winterbreeze was impatiently pacing in the waiting room until he could go in to see if Shadowlily was alright, since he had no clue what had happened to her. Just then the doctor came out and told Winterbreeze that he could go and see Shadowlily now. Winterbreeze quickly flew to her room to find her on the bed curled around two bundles of cloth. She looked up as he entered and flew over to give her a hug.

"Are you okay? I was so worried Lily! I thought I was going to lose you," he said as tears started to stream out of his eyes.

"I'm fine Winter, but there's something I want you to do," she replied weakly.

"You know I would do anything for you Lily," he responded in a tone that showed he was on the verge of crying.

"Then come and say hi to your daughters..."

 **In case you all are wondering, Dawnfrost and Duskfire are the embodiment of Harmony and Chaos. And it was these forces that chose Shadowlily as the mother of the two alicorns. And her collapse was due to the 9 month process being crammed into a hour by the two forces. I'm pretty sure anypony would react the same.**

 **Also, I'm sorry for the cliffhangers, they're kind of my thing. You'll find one at the end of every chapter.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: At the Break of Dawn

**As I said, short backstories. Also to anypony who doesn't know what Queen Galaxia looks like (or who she is), just Google "MLP Who is Queen Galaxia."**

Now that you know how my parents met, you need to know why that's important. Well, me and Nightshade were born alicorns, we got our wings from our father and our horns from our mother. Oh, PONYFEATHERS! I forgot to tell you what we look like. Well here goes nothing.

Our Dad is a white pegasus with sapphire blue eyes. His mane and tail are pale blue with a sapphire blue streak through them. His cutie mark is a dark grey cloud with three sky blue snowflakes under it.

Our Mom is a light grey unicorn with ruby red eyes and a ruby red magic aura. Her mane and tail are pitch black with a ruby red streak through them. Her cutie mark is a red heart with a black star in the center.

Nightshade is a smokey grey alicorn with white on her hooves and the tips of the feathers on her wings, she has a black magic aura and ruby red eyes. Her mane and tail are pitch black with an inch of white on the end. Her cutie mark is a white full moon with three red stars around it.

Finally I saved the best for last. Me (by the way, my parents say that I look exactly like Queen Galaxia, except the cutie mark, from the old history books on the royal family). I'm a white alicorn with pale orange on my hooves and the tips of the feathers on my wings, I have an indigo magic aura and sapphire blue eyes, I also have an indigo coloring on the front of my hooves. My mane and tail are pale orange with an inch of indigo on the ends. My cutie mark is a sun with three blue hearts around it.

When I was about five my parents gave me a straw beach hat with an indigo ribbon around it to cover my horn. Night just used her mane. Everyday for the next 5 years was pretty much the same. Get up, go to school, come home, play with Nightshade, go to bed, repeat.

Then one night, I woke up to voices coming from downstairs. I could barely make out what they were saying.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? She'll be heartbroken when she finds out," Mom asked.

"Come on Lily. You know its for the best. I know it must be hard for you but we have to. It's an important step for alicorns, without it they don't build up the magical strength they need to survive," explained Dad.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with," Mom said in a frustrated tone.

Then I heard the front door slam and the sound of many ponies galloping away. I race downstairs knowing what was happening, but by the time I opened the front door I was too late. They were gone. I sank to the floor and began to cry, knowing that now I was truly alone, because my parents and Nightshade left me behind. They left me...

Alone...

 **That's all for this chapter.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Voyage of Dawn

**This is the official start of Dawnfrost's journey. I know that it's pretty short, but I was on a time limit. So I hope you enjoy!**

10 years had passed before I was finally old enough to leave Canterlot, where I was raised by Princess Cadance herself, I think of her as my new mom, but felt weird since there is this other pony with peach colored fur that thinks of her as his big sister. If it were by law he'd have been my uncle. Although I have many good memories here in Canterlot, I still wanted to find my real family. Cadance understood this and promised to let me got on my search if I promised to write her some letters. I agreed.

I set out, leaving Canterlot behind me, I searched everywhere from Manehattan to Cloudsdale to Las Pegasus, but I didn't find anything. Then, one day I stumbled upon a small town called Ponyville.

I walked around to see what I could find. I started heading to this big building that everypony else seemed to be heading to, but then I stopped dead in my tracks. A royal chariot was descending from the sky to land not too far away from me. I hid behind a cherry stand as a purple unicorn, a peach colored unicorn that looked vaguely familiar but I still didn't recognize him, and a baby dragon got off as the chariot flew away. I waited until they walked away to walk up and enter the main building.

The first thing I noticed was the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. The second thing I noticed was that everypony else was staring at me. I blushed since I'm very shy and then hid behind a potted bush. Everypony just went back to what they were doing. I was about to leave when the unicorns and dragon came into the building and walked up to a white unicorn. They talked to each other for a little while before they left. I decided I was just going to stay behind my bush until the celebration was over. I fell asleep at some point and woke up to hear the giant crowd of ponies gasp in fear. I look up to see Nightmare Moon! Then I saw who was behind her and gasped in shock as she looked at me, gave me an evil smirk, and then teleported away.

It was Nightshade...

 **That's all for this chapter.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: Night Rises When Dawn Breaks

**This is the start of longer chapters and if you didn't know, this story does somewhat follow the plot line of the show, but takes place in a different location. Also this is Part 1 of "Friendship is Magic: Part 2" and Chapter 5 is going to be the other half, because this chapter was starting to get pretty long so I had to break it in half. Also, if you haven't noticed yet, I like to leave every chapter at a cliffhanger so you end up having to guess what happens next till I update the story.**

...After seeing my sister, I raced out of the building, only to see her flying away. I started to turn to go back inside and was knocked into the bushes by the purple unicorn, as she and her companions galloped out of the building. As I struggled to get out of the bushes, the white unicorn from earlier came running out of the building followed by a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, a yellow pegasus with a pale pink mane, a pink earth pony with a messy pink mane, and an orange earth pony with yellow hair and a brown Stetson hat. The unicorn and yellow pegasus came to a stop when they saw me in the bushes.

"Why darling! Whatever are you doing in those bushes?" asked the white unicorn with a puzzled look on her face.

"Uh… Sight-seeing?" I answered sarcastically, my cheeks red with embarrassment. The yellow pegasus had just finished helping me free my wings so I could fly out of the bushes. "Thank you," I said kindly.

"Oh, it's my pleasure," she said in a very soft voice before flying to catch up with the other ponies.

"You should really come with me to my boutique so we can get you cleaned up," the unicorn insisted.

"While I'd love to, I have something really important to do," I said kindly, but the unicorn still frowned, "But thanks for the offer miss…"

"Rarity," she replied.

"Well, I'd better get going," I said before turning around to take off after Nightshade.

It was still dark by the time I reached a small inn outside of Manehattan (which makes sense because of Nightmare's return and all of that). I walked inside and rented a room. As I reached the door to my room, I heard angry voices coming from the room next door. I walked over and gently knocked on the door, the voices stopped. A few seconds later, a yellow pegasus with a blue mane opened the door.

"Yes?" she said in a polite and cheery voice.

"Hi, I'm Dawnfrost. I just rented the room next door and heard you shouting, so I cme to see if everything's alright," I said in a worried tone.

"Oh, we're fine, Snowglider was just making a fuss," she said. Then there was a loud crash followed by the muffled voice of a pony.

"Hey Sunbeam, can I get a little help?" it said.

Hold on, I'm coming!" shouted Sunbeam.

"Could I help?" I asked.

"Sure!" she replied gratefully.

I entered the room and looked around. On the left side of the room there was a couch with a couple of dressers on either side of it. On the right side, there was a small kitchen and two doors to the left of it. One was a bedroom, and the other was the bathroom. On the wall directly across from the front door, there was two more doors that both lead to more bedrooms. In the middle of the main room, there was a huge pile of boxes of all shapes and sizes. Together, me and Sunbeam managed to get all of the boxes off of a pegasus, she was a cherry red mare with a black mane.

"Thanks for helping me," she said gratefully, I could tell her cheeks were red with embarrassment, even though I couldn't see any difference in her normal cherry red color.

"No problem, I'm Dawnfrost," I replied, extending a wing in greeting.

"Snowgider," she replied, shaking my wing with one of her own, "But most ponies call me Snowy."

"Nice to meet you Snowy," I said.

After the introductions, we started talking about places we've been. I was surprised to find out that Snowglider and Sunbeam had traveled almost everywhere in Equestria, except Canterlot and Ponyville. After talking for hours, I soon found myself fast asleep and dreaming. I was in a small house that was bare of anything save a picture of me and Nightshade as young fillies.

How odd, I thought to myself, what is that doing here. Then there was a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it!" shouted a familiar voice before my mom came down the staircase.

"Mom! I shout in pure happiness, but she just passed right through me, showing no sign that she knew I was there. She walked over to the door and opened it with her magic.

"Hello, how can I-," she started before being cut off as she was hit with a blast of magic. She sailed across the room and hit the wall with a thud before falling onto the floor in a heap.

"Mom!" I cried trying to run over to her, but I found that I couldn't move.

"Lily? Is everything alright in…" my dad started as he came down the stairs before seeing Mom on the floor and trailing off. "Lily!" he shouted as he ran over to her. Just then, a cloaked figure walked in through the open door.

"Who are you and what have you done to my Lily!" Dad demanded with a look of anger. The cloaked figure just laughed before throwing off the cloak to reveal…

"Nightshade? What have you done?" Dad said, his rage replaced with a look of horror. Nightshade just smiled as she charged her horn for another blast. Dad tried to fly away, but he wasn't fast enough and Nightshade hit him, sending him to the ground. I screamed.

Suddenly, I found myself being shaken awake by Sunbeam. I thought I heard somepony screaming before I realized it was me and shut my mouth.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"It's noon, I tried to wake you up sooner, but you were sleeping to deeply. Then about five minutes ago you started screaming," she replied annoyed.

"Sorry," I said before realizing that I was still in their rooms, "How long have I been here?"

"Since last night, err… Make that this night. Anyway you fell asleep as we were talking and neither Snowy nor I wanted to disturb you."

"Oh. Where is Snowy anyway?" I asked.

She went to get something to make for breakfast, so she won't be back for some time," she answered.

"Ah, I see. Sunny, could I tell you a secret?" I asked.

"Are you going to tell Snowglider?"

"When she gets back," I replied.

"Then sure," she said in a calm and excited tone.

"Ok, but you're going to have to promise not to tell anypony else," I said. After she nodded I sighed and used my magic to remove my beach hat. Sunbeam gasped and her eyes widened.

"You're an alicorn!" she shouted in surprise.

Yes, I am," I replied. Just then, the door opened and Snowglider flew inside. The second she noticed the horn, she froze and fell to the floor before bolting upright, her cheeks were red with embarrassment (or at least I think they were, you could never really tell).

"Dawn, since when have you had a horn?" she asked skeptically.

"All of my life, but you have to promise me not to tell anypony else."

"Alright. So if you're an alicorn then doesn't that mean you're a princess?" she asked.

"Well, technically, yes." I answered.

"Well then Princess Dawnfrost…" She trailed off.

"Flitter," I stated.

"How would you like to help me make some pancakes?"

"I'd love to!" I shouted.

After breakfast, we sat down on the couch and started talking. Then out of the blue, Snowglider looked at me curiously.

"If you're a princess, then what are you the princess of?" she asked.

"I don't really know," I said, feeling puzzled.

Just then I felt a strong magical surge before everything went black…

 **That's all for this chapter.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5: Dawn Brings the Sunrise

**Hello again, this is part 2 of "Friendship Is Magic: Part 2" I'm sorry that I had to split the chapter but it was getting too long. Also something that always bothered me about the two-part series premiere was the fact that Celestia was captured, but then just appears at the end without any explanation as to where she was, who captured her, or how she escaped. So I hope you enjoy my take on the matter!**

When I woke up, I found Sunbeam standing over me.

"Uh, what happened?" I groaned, trying to sit up.

"Well, we were talking and then you just yelped and passed out," she answered.

"Good, now that you're awake, I found a note taped on the door for you," said Snowglider as she walked into the room. She then walked over and handed me the note.

I looked at the note, it was in small curly hand-writing. _If you ever want to see your beloved Celestia again, you will meet me in the caverns beneath Canterlot. You are to come ALONE,_ I read, _fail to meet any of these demands, and Celestia will find herself in the moon for the next millennium._

"The MOON!" shouted Snowglider and Sunbeam with looks of horror.

"Apparently," I replied, "I'm going to save Celestia."

"Not without us," said Sunbeam.

"Didn't you read the note? It said I had to go ALONE!" I shouted, feeling shocked that they would offer to help me.

"So, how are you going to stop us from coming?" retorted Snowglider, looking smug.

"Well, now that you mention it…" I said, putting my fore-hoof under my chin, "I am a princess, so I command you not to come."

"She's got you there Snowy," said Sunbeam, who was giggling.

"Urgh!" Snowglider grunted in frustration.

Eventually, Sunbeam got an idea. We started to form a plan, I gave each of them two magic gems. The first one would transport them to me when the step on it. The second one transports me to them. Then I gave them each a magic hand mirror that allows them to see what I see.

"Okay, are you guys ready?" I asked, feeling worried.

"Yeah!" Sunbeam yelled enthusiastically.

"Are you kidding? Of course we are!" shouted Snowglider, equally excited.

With that we set out, by the time we reached the entrance to the caverns it was still night.

"You guys wait here. If I need help transport to me. Err… unless I'm captured and put in a cage, then you transport me to you," I said.

"You got it Princess!" Snowglider said teasingly.

"Snowy! You know I don't like it when you call me that!" I shouted, smiling.

"Whatever you say, Princess," she relied, still smiling.

"Ugh!" I groaned before heading into the caverns.

Then I heard something behind me and I looked back to see the entrance to the caverns closing. I ran back, but the entrance had already closed. With that I continued into the caverns before reaching a cave. I looked around, in the center of the cave there was a fire, to the left of the fire was a small cage where Celestia was laying down, looking defeated. To the right of the fire was a small tent, which a pony walked out of.

"Shay!" I shouted, "What are you doing here?"

"The 'Shay' you once knew is gone," she declared in a booming voice, "I am Nightshade! The NEW RULER OF EQUESTRIA!"

"What?" I said puzzled. Then it hit me, Celestia wasn't captured by Nightmare Moon, she was captured by Nightshade!

"Now you have a choice," she started, "Either join me or you can join Celestia in the moon!"

I froze, not sure what to do. It was then that Celestia stirred, shifting to look right at me. At this point I would like to say that I'm not sure what happened next, but then I would be lying. I threw off my hat and shot a blast of magic at the lock, blasting it to pieces. Just as the lock exploded, Snowglider and Sunbeam appeared next to me.

"Get Celestia to safety! I'll hold off Shay as long as I can, but you'll have to hurry!" I quickly told them, dodging a blast from Nightshade.

As they nodded and ran over to Celestia, I shot a beam at Nightshade but she blocked it with a shield before firing a blast back. I jumped over it and tackled her to the ground, but she threw me off. I landed on the ground hard, just then Nightshade jumped over me and her fore-hoof started glowing as she prepared to use a splashdown. I barely managed to get my shied up in time, and as her hoof connected with my shield, there was an explosion. We were both sent flying, Nightshade into the ceiling and me into the giant crater that was created in the explosion. I hit the ground dazed, and looked up in time to see Nightshade coming down with another splashdown. I shot a beam at her, causing her to lose her focus and countering her attack.

"Just give up! You can never win!" she screamed.

"We'll see about that Shay!" I yelled back.

I then charged at Nightshade bringing my fore-hoof, which was glowing, forward to punch her.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

When my fore-hoof connected, it sent her flying with the same amount of power as the splashdown. She crashed into the wall before falling to the ground dazed. Then I felt a surge of magic course through me and I charged my horn for the final blast.

"I'm sorry Shay, but this is the only way," I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"NOOOOOO!" she screamed, but it was too late, because just then I shot a beam of rainbow energy at her, the energy wrapped around her, glowing brightly before exploding. I was sent flying into the wall where I hit my head and everything went black.

This time when I woke up, I saw Celestia standing over me.

"Uh, where am I?" I asked.

"You are in the Canterlot hospital," she said calmly, "After you sent Nightshade to the farthest corner of Equestria, your friends carried you here." Just then Sunbeam and Snowglider ran up and hugged me.

"Don't you ever worry us like that again!" Snowglider scolded me before smiling, "Glad that you survived."

"I'm surprised that I did to, but wait, Celestia? What exactly did I do to Shay?" I asked.

"Well it seems that when the Elements of Harmony were used to stop Nightmare, you taped into that power and used it to send Nightshade to some far corner of Equestria," she answered calmly, "And since nopony has ever managed this before, I think this means that you, Dawnfrost Flitter, are the Princess of Harmony itself…"

 **That's all for this chapter.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Ticket Master

**As I said guys, until the next arc the episode titles are going to be named after the episode they take place in. Also, sorry if this chapter is so short but I was kind of in a rush. Well, I hope you still enjoy!**

"Wait, what!" I shouted, "What do you mean?"

"As I said," began Celestia, "Your talent is Harmony itself."

"That isn't possible!" said a voice behind me. I turned around to see a blue alicorn with a mane that looked like the night sky.

"Who are you?" I asked, puzzled.

"I am Princess Luna," she said calmly.

"As in _the_ Luna!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, little one," replied Celestia.

"I thought you were trapped in the moon," I said.

"I _was_ , but now I'm free," she replied. Just then, Snowglider and Sunbeam entered the room arguing about something.

"No! I thought I told you that we met Juniper in Fillydelphia!" Sunbeam declared.

"But we were in Manehattan when we went to that play!" Snowglider said angrily.

"That was only after we invited her to come," Sunbeam countered, "Hey look Dawn's awake!"

"Hey guys. What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"Well after you blew up most of the caves, we went back in for you and carried you here." Said Sunbeam.

"Thanks for that," I replied, "I don't know what happened exactly."

"You're welcome," Sunbeam said kindly.

"Are you ready to leave this boring hospital yet?" Snowglider groaned, poking my flank with her wing. I just rolled my eyes before standing up. As we left, Celestia and Luna were talking with each other and laughing. Sunbeam and Snowglider led me through the streets of Canterlot.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," replied Sunbeam. I just remained silent the rest of the walk, while Sunbeam and Snowglider resumed their argument from earlier. Eventually, we reached one of the castle towers.

"Here we are!" Sunbeam said, "Celestia said we could stay here for as long as we need to."

"Yeah! It's HUGE!" exclaimed Snowglider, causing me and Sunbeam to roll our eyes, "What? I'm allowed to be excited about living in Celestia's castle."

"We know" I replied as we walked inside. The tower was huge… and mostly empty. There was just a small sofa in the center of the room and a few pictures on the walls. I left Sunbeam and Snowglider to their argument to explore the tower. I found that it had twenty bedrooms (completed with beds and dressers), five bathrooms, and a kitchen. As I returned downstairs, I noticed that Sunbeam and Snowglider had left a note on the front door.

 _We went to get something for lunch. We'll be back soon,_ I read.

With that, I left the tower to roam Canterlot. I started at the library, but when I couldn't find anything interesting, I went to the central gardens. Before I realized what I was doing, I noticed that I had taken a detour to my old home. It was just an empty burnt-out shell, overgrown with weeds.

 _Whatever happened to those day,_ I thought to myself, _the days where I didn't have to worry about my problems because Mom and Dad were there to help me through them._ I started thinking about a day when me and Nightshade were having fun playing a game in the gardens.

 ** _[Begin Flashback]_**

 _"_ _You can't catch me!" I shouted to Nightshade as we were playing a game of tag._

 _"_ _We'll see about that!" she shouted as she chased after me. I then flew under a tree branch, narrowly missing it. While behind me Nightshade didn't see the branch in time, crashing into it and falling to the ground. When I landed beside her, she just glared at me before we both just started laughing._

 ** _[End Flashback]_**

I continued to walk towards the gardens, once I arrived I noticed Sunbeam and Snowglider sitting on a picnic blanket, smiling and talking to each other.

"Hey guys," I said as I walked up to them.

"Hey Dawn. Glad you could join us," replied Sunbeam. Then, she must've noticed the distant look on my face because she said, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of times when things were so much simpler. When I didn't have to worry about my evil sister," I said.

"Want to talk about it?" Sunbeam asked kindly.

"Alright," I said, feeling nervous. Once I told them about how I was left on my own, they stared at me with matching looks of horror.

"How could your own parents do that to you?" Snowglider shouted.

"That's just it. I don't know," I replied.

"Well, I hope you find them someday," Sunbeam said sympathetically.

" _I_ know that you'll _never_ find them," said a voice behind us.

I whirled around to see Nightshade…

 **That's all for this chapter!**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7: Applebuck Season

**Sorry for the long wait everypony. I couldn't post anything because my "friend" stole my flash drive with all of my drafts on it. I finally managed to get it back. So I hope you all enjoy this next exciting chapter.**

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"I'm saying, you will _NEVER_ find Mom and Dad!" Nightshade shouted.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I said, my frustration growing.

"It means that they're gone! _Forever!_ " she shouted, "They're gone because of me! I couldn't control myself and- and…" With that she burst into tears, "WAAAAAH! It's-it's all my-my fault! I hurt th-th-them, just l-l-like I almost hur-hurt you! WAAAH!"

"Shay?" I said calmly, walking over to wrap my wing around her, "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"I-I couldn't control myself, something m-made me hurt th-them. They're g-gone because of me-hee-hee!" she wailed, tears streaming down her face.

"Here, how 'bout I take you to my room in Celestia's castle and we can talk about it?" I offered, noticing that Sunbeam and Snowglider had vanished.

"O-okay," Nightshade sniffled. Together, we walked back to the tower. I led her inside, past Sunbeam and Snowglider, and into my room. I shut the door with my magic and turned to Nightshade, who was still crying.

"Okay, now how 'bout we start from the beginning?" I said calmly.

"Mm-kay," she replied weakly, "Well, one night when we were about ten, Mom and Dad took me with them to Manehattan, leaving you behind. There they bought a hotel room and left me all alone. While I grew up, I began to hate them for taking away my sister. When I finally grew old enough, I left Manehattan and travelled to Canterlot to look for you but you were already gone. In my anger, I set fire to our house and fled Canterlot. I travelled to Fillydelphia, where I started my search for you, Mom, and Dad. I travelled all over Equestria and finally found Mom and Dad in Saddlerabia…"

 **BEGIN FLASHBACK**

 _Nightshade walked up to a house wearing a black cloak with fury burning in her eyes. She pounded on the front door, which opened a few moments later._

 _"Hello, how may I help you?" Mom said as she answered the door. Nightshade shoved Mom back, then entered the house and shut the door behind her. Mom stumbled before falling to the floor._

 _"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME AND NOT CARE! You left me all alone!" Nightshade yelled, her eyes gleamed purple for a second before returning to normal. She started to charge her horn with magic. When Mom tried to get back up, Nightshade knocked her back down, "You have no idea what I went through! I had nopony to help me when I was bullied, I had no friends, and because of you, I DON'T EVEN HAVE MY SISTER!"_

 _"Lily? Is everything…" Dad froze on the stairs when he saw Mom. "Who are you and what have you done to my Lily?" he demanded, a look of rage on his face. Nightshade threw off her cloak and hit him in the flank with a blast of magic. Dad crumpled on the steps, Nightshade then move Dad next to Mom and created a magical cage around them. Then Nightshade used her magic to make the fire grow, causing it to spill out of the fireplace and spread. Then, she turned and raced out of the house to watch as it burned with Mom and Dad still inside…_

 **END FLASHBACK**

"… I don't know what came over me. I was just going to talk to them and the next thing I know, I was watching as the fireponies tried to put out the blaze," Nightshade explained, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, "It's my fault they're gone."

"Shay… I… I don't know what to say," I replied on the verge of crying too.

"It's alright if you're mad at me," she whimpered.

"I'm not mad at you because it's wasn't your fault, I responded, "You had no control over your actions."

"But I started the fire," she sniffled.

"And that wasn't your decision, something made you and I think it was magic," I declared.

"Really?" Nightshade replied weakly.

"Yes. In fact I think I'll call that evil you, Shadow!" I exclaimed, trying to sound menacing but my voice squeaked causing Nightshade to laugh.

"I think that name is perfect," she said, sounding a little better.

"Well that's good," I said in fake relief, "Because I spent forever coming up with it." Nightshade just glared at me before we both burst out laughing. "It's good to have you back Shay."

"It's good to be back," she replied. We both jumped when we heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Dawn? You alright in there?" Sunbeam's voice came through the door.

"Oh, I'm fine," I said as I opened the door, "I was just talking with my sister." I nodded to Nightshade, who walked up to Sunbeam and extended a wing in greeting.

"Hello, I'm Nightshade but you can call me Shay." The grey alicorn said kindly. Sunbeam hesitated before shaking Nightshade's wing.

"Um… hi I'm Sunbeam but you can call me Sunny," Sunbeam said nervously.

"Nice to meet you," Nightshade replied. Suddenly, Snowglider burst into the room and threw a scroll at me. It hit me in the face before I could catch it.

"You need to read that," she said, out of breath. I unroll the paper and started reading.

" _Dawnfrost and Nightshade. We will be at our old home and would like you to come,_ " I read aloud, " _Please hurry. We have a lot to talk about. Signed Shadowlily and Winterbreeze._ Wait, what in Equestria is going on? First Shay tells me that our parents are gone and now we have a message telling us they're alive and that they want to talk to us."

"I don't know Dawn," Snowglider said, "Either they're ghosts or it's the fact that I found this taped to the front door and saw a light grey unicorn running away from the tower."

"That sounds like Mom!" I exclaimed, jumping around like a little filly.

"Indeed it does," Nightshade remarked coldly before shaking her head and giving me an apologetic look.

"You guys should go and see them," Sunbeam said kindly.

"Alright," I replied before dragging Nightshade with me. We dashed all the way to our old home and looked around but there was nopony to be found.

"Hello Dawn. Shay. We're glad you came," said a soft voice behind us. Me and Nightshade whirled around and I gasped when I saw Mom. I rushed over and wrapped my fore-hooves around her in a hug.

"Mom! You're okay! I've missed you so-" I started but was cut off by a yelp behind me. I spun around to see Nightshade thrashing on the ground before she went rigid. She stood up and glared at Mom with a look of fury, her eyes flashed purple. Nightshade had become Shadow! Shadow shot a burst of magic at Mom, I barely managed to jump in front of her and throw up a shield to block it. Then I dropped my shield and used the charge attack I used back in the caves. I hit Shadow hard and sent her flying into a wall where she collapsed to the ground.

I walked over to her, ready to fight but noticed the fury was replaced with despair. There were tears in her eyes and she was silently crying. I knelt down and wrapped a wing around her, then jumped when another wing was laid over mine. I looked over Nightshade and saw Dad sitting on her other side.

"It's okay Shay, everything will be alright," he said calmly.

"No it's not!" Nightshade cried out before taking off into the sky. I tried to chase after her but Dad held me back. I just collapsed defeated because I had just lost my sister…

 **Sorry for all of the flashbacks, I'm trying to give you guys bits and pieces of the characters' backstories to make the story more interesting. So let me know how I'm doing with that.**

 **Well that's all for this chapter!**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Griffon the Brushoff

**Thank you guys for reading my story, because I have now past 100 views and that means a lot to me. I hope you continue to read my story and I hope you enjoy this next exciting chapter!**

"She's gone," I sobbed.

"Don't worry Dawn," Dad said calmly, "She'll be back when she's ready."

"B-but she left me-ee!" I wailed, unable to hold back my tears. Dad just wrapped a wing around me and led me to a small house near the castle. Mom just followed closely behind us. Once inside, we all sat on a big sofa in silence until I stopped crying.

"W-where do you th-think she went?" I sniffled.

"I don't know sweetie," Mom said, a tinge os despair in her voice.

"I'll try to find her," Dad declared before flying away.

"O-okay," I replied weakly, "Wait, I th-thought Shay said she h-hurt you."

"You mean the fire?" Mom sighed, looking tired and sad.

"Yeah," I said carefully, "What happened? How did you escape?"

"Well, before I answer, I think we should start from the beginning. You can go first if you want," Mom said softly. With that, I told her everything that happened to me after she left me alone in Canterlot. "That sounds like quite the adventure," She responded after I had finished.

The front door creaked open and Dad walked in with a more reluctant Nightshade following him. After joining us, Mom convinced Nightshade to tell us what she went through. Finally, it was Mom and Dad's turn. Mom just sighed when we turned to look at her expectantly.

"Alright, but before I start you need to know that we left because we didn't have a choice. The disappearance of an alicorn's parents is an important part of an alicorn's life. We never wanted to leave you and we understand why you're upset, but just know that we wanted you to grow up being proper alicorns," She explained, "After we left you, we moved to Saddlerabia to life a peaceful life until it was time for us to find you again. That was, until we were found by Shay…

 **BEGIN FLASHBACK**

 _The fire was raging everywhere when Shadowlily stirred. Winterbreeze was still unconscious next to her. She winced and rubbed her head with a fore-hoof before she froze when she noticed the fire. She looked around frantically and as the flames drew closer, she dropped to the ground defeated and began to cry. The sirens of the fireponies could be heard in the distance. Shadowlily then perked up as if she had an idea, then began to create a shield. She strained to hold the shield as the flames closed in on them and when the fireponies finally put out the fire a came in to rescue them, she collapsed with exhaustion._

 **FAST-FORWARD FLASHBACK**

 _Shadowlily woke up in the hospital with Winterbreeze sitting in a chair next to the bed._

 _"Lily! You're awake!" Winterbreeze cheered, wrapping her in a tight hug, "Are you okay? I heard what you did. What were you thinking? You could've been hurt!"_

 _"I'm fine, and I was keeping us from being burned by the flames," She responded, rolling her eyes._

 _"I know, but I was worried you had hurt yourself," he pouted, "You used a lot of magic to hold that shield."_

 _I'll be fine. Also, where in Equestria are we?" Shadowlily asked kindly._

 _"We're in the Canterlot hospital," Winterbreeze said with a calm tone._

 _"And why are we in Canterlot?" Shadowlily asked, a puzzled look on her face._

 _"Because Dawn and Shay are here and I thought it was time to return," He stated, "And don't worry, Dawn helped Nightshade let go of her anger. Plus, I already wrote this note for them." He held up a scroll with his fore-hoof and gave it to Shadowlily._

 **END FLASHBACK**

"…And that's when I taped the scroll to your door, knocked, and ran away," Mom finished. Me and Nightshade just stared, "What? You two are looking at me like I grew a second horn."

"It's just that-," I started, but was cut off by Nightshade.

"Most Unicorns can't create shields-," Nightshade continued.

"Much less hold them that long in an inferno," I finished, smugly looking at Nightshade, she just glared at me.

"Well, I just thought about protecting Winter and the shield just came out of nowhere," Mom explained, "And knowing that Winter depended on me to save him gave me the strength I needed to hold it."

"That's… Incredible!" I exclaimed, hugging Mom tightly, "I might have to look into that sometime. In fact I can imagine it now, the magic of _Family!_ " Everypony just laughed at that. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing sweetie, just couldn't help it," Mom replied.

"So, what's next?" Nightshade asked.

"Maybe you all can come with me so I can get to know Equestria's two newest princesses," said a kind voice behind us. I spun around to see a dark blue alicorn with sparkly blue hair, like the night sky.

"Princess Luna! We weren't expecting you!" I said in surprise.

"Dawnfrost, we have a lot to talk about but we can't talk here," She replied before turning around and trotting off, "Come with me." The rest of us followed her to the castle. Eventually, we found ourselves in a small study kneeling on the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked, afraid I had done something wrong.

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to get to know you better and didn't want to be bothered by anypony" Luna responded calmly.

"Oh, well in that case. Hi I'm Dawnfrost and this is my twin Nightshade. Over there is my Mom, Shadowlily, and my dad Winterbreeze," I said cheerfully.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Luna said, "I'm Luna, Princess of the Night."

"Oh, it's our pleasure Princess," Mom replied kindly.

"Please, call me Luna," The dark alicorn responded, "Since your daughters are princesses, that makes you royalty too."

"Huh, I guess that does," Mom said with a look of concentration.

"So Luna, what do you want to know first?" I asked kindly.

"How about we each take turns, starting from the beginning," She answered, "I'll go first. Many centuries ago, my parents, Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos, ruled over Equestria…"

 **That's it for this chapter! Stay tuned to find out the past of Luna and Celestia.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: Boast Busters (Fixed Version)

**Sorry everypony about the first version of chapter 9, something weird happened with Microsoft Word and that was the result, but don't despair because I managed to fix it. Also, sorry if you all already know this story, but I found it really interesting and wanted to share it with you guys. Since I know that some of you won't be interested in it, I'm only going to make it one chapter. That way we can get back to the actual story. But I still hope that you all enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Boast Busters (Or: Luna's Backstory Special)

 **BEGIN FLASHBACK**

… " _Hello little sis, I'm Celestia," A Young Celestia said as she stood over the crib of Baby Luna. Their parents, Queen Galaxia and King Cosmo, stood nearby with looks of joy._

" _Tia, you know she's too young to know what you're saying," said Cosmo with a smile._

" _I know, but I can still talk to her," she replied quickly, "Isn't that right Luna!" The baby alicorn just giggled and smiled. The nursery door opened and Discord walked in, but nopony noticed and his face became a look of jealousy when he saw Young Celestia playing with Baby Luna. He then vanished without saying a word. After a little while, Baby Luna yawned and fell asleep._

" _Come on Tia," Galaxia whispered, "Let's let her sleep." She then led Young Celestia and Cosmo out of the nursery and quietly shut the door. A few moments later, the door opened again and Discord strolled in._

" _Well, well, well. So you're the one that Celestia likes more than me," He said coldly, his tone causing Baby Luna to stir, "How about I teach you a lesson. A lesson that nopony takes Celestia away from me!" He then slapped Baby Luna's cheek, causing her to wake up and burst into tears._

 _Meanwhile, Young Celestia was in her room reading a book and taking notes when she heard Baby Luna wail. Young Celestia the shot up, launching her book across the room, and dashed out of the door and all the way to the nursery. Celestia threw the door open and saw Discord standing over the crib and Baby Luna crying with a pink paw mark on her cheek._

" _ **DISCORD! HOW DARE YOU!**_ _" Young Celestia boomed, "_ _ **YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR HURTING MY BABY SISTER!**_ _" With that, she tackled Discord to the ground and was just about to blast him with her magic when the nursery door burst open. Queen Galaxia and King Cosmo raced into the room, Galaxia raced over and scooped up Baby Luna with her fore-hooves before turning to Discord._

" _Discord, you only have two choices. Either you can leave and never return, or you can stay and face the wrath of Celestia." Galaxia said calmly, rocking Baby Luna back to sleep._

" _Oh, that's easy," He answered, sounding confident._

" _Without your magic," said Cosmo as he used his magic to block Discord's._

" _Well, that may be a problem," Discord said with a hint of fear in his voice, "In that case… Bye!" He then threw Young Celestia off and ran out of the nursery as fast as his legs could carry him. Galaxia just gently set Baby Luna down in her crib and calmly walked out of the nursery. King Cosmo and Young Celestia followed._

" _Hey, Mom?" Young Celestia said quietly._

" _Yes?"_

" _Can I move my room into the study next to the nursery?"_

" _Of course you can Tia," Galaxia said kindly._

" _Thank you," Young Celestia said as she hugged Galaxia._

" _You're welcome," Galaxia replied, trying to stifle a small laugh._

 **FAST-FORWARD FLASHBACK**

 _A few years later, Young Celestia is playing in the castle gardens with Young Luna._

" _Come on Luna! I know you can do it!" Young Celestia said as she flew a little ways above Young Luna._

" _I'm trying!" Young Luna said angrily as she flapped her wings and jumped around. Eventually her wings caught a small breeze and she slowly lifted off of the ground. "Hey I'm actually doing it!" She cheered._

" _Way to go Luna!" Young Celestia cheered with her._

" _Celestia! Luna! Lunchtime!" Galaxia called from one of the castle windows._

" _We're coming!" Young Celestia shouted back, "Luna, we've got to tell Mom and Dad about this!"_

" _Yeah! Woo-hoo!" Young Luna yelled cheerfully as she swooped down to land next to her sister, "Alright, let's go eat, because I'm starving!" The two young alicorns raced each other to the kitchen where Galaxia had set out two plates of sandwiches. Young Luna chatted with her sister while they ate, and when they finished, they went back out into the courtyard to play tag._

 _A few hours later, as the sun set_ (And after they ate dinner) _, they each went to their rooms to sleep. In the morning, Young Luna went to find Galaxia and the others. She first stopped by the kitchen to see if breakfast was ready, but nopony was there._

" _Mom? Tia? Where is everypony?" She called, but got no response. She started to panic and, as she dashed out of the kitchen, crashed into a very tired looking Celestia._

" _Luna? What's the matter?" Young Celestia groaned. Young Luna scrambled to get off of her before helping her up._

" _Mom's missing!" Young Luna declared, rushing to the door, but Young Celestia blocked it._

" _Whoa, whoa, slow down a moment. What are you talking about?" Young Celestia said, looking puzzled._

" _Mom is missing! She isn't in the kitchen and she didn't make breakfast yet!" Young Luna replied, trying to get around Young Celestia, "And you know how she is about being the first awake!"_

" _Hmm… That is strange. But what should we do about it?"_

" _We need to find them! What if they're in trouble? What if something happened to them? What if… if…" Young Luna stammered._

" _Luna, you need to calm down. We can't help them if we're panicking," Young Celestia said calmly, eventually convincing Young Luna to stop squirming as Celestia gave her a hug._

" _But where could they have gone?" Young Luna asked, sounding much calmer than before._

" _I don't know Luna. I don't know," Young Celestia said distantly._

 **FAST-FORWARD FLASHBACK**

 _A few days later, Celestia had grown to her full size_ (But she was still very young) _and was outside of her and Luna's castle in the Everfree Forest. Young Luna_ (She's now the same size as she was when she returned from her banishment in the moon) _stood next to her, and the two appeared to be arguing about something._

" _But sister-," Young Luna began._

" _Now Luna, I have told you plenty of times that I cannot let you make the night longer," Celestia said in an annoyed tone._

" _But why not? All of the ponies of Equestria love and cherish you beautiful day, but they shun and hide from my glorious night," Young Luna said in a frustrated tone._

" _My sister, do you not see the ponies that stay up at night to watch the stars?" Celestia asked, seemingly not paying full attention to Young Luna's words._

" _But-," Young Luna started, but was cut off when Celestia raised a fore-hoof._

" _No buts. Now that will be the end of this matter of discussion," She said calmly. Young Luna just stormed off in frustration._

 **FAST-FORWARD FLASHBACK**

(This takes place after the sisters found the Elements of Harmony, defeated Lord Tirek, and imprisoned Discord)

 _Celestia was outside, flying above the castle so she could raise the sun. Young Luna flew up behind her in obvious rage._

" _Good morning Luna," Celestia said as Young Luna came closer._

" _Sorry Tia, but I'm done doing what you tell me to do! If ponies won't respect my night, then I'll take the day and the night will last forever!" Young Luna said as she was enveloped in a dark purple mist. The young alicorn began to transform, her eyes narrowed and glowed with green fire_ (At least, that's what I think it is) _, her wings grew and became bat-like, the black mark around the moon on her flank turned purple, her dark blue fur turned another shade of purple, her teeth became fangs, and her mane became fluid, like smoke._

" _Luna! What's happening?" Celestia shouted, obviously worried._

" _Luna is no more. I am Nightmare Moon, and I am here to bring darkness eternal!" The transformed alicorn said. With that, she raised the moon to block the sun, causing a solar eclipse._

" _Sister, you must stop, the power of an eclipse will destroy Equestria!" Celestia pleaded as she tried to reach Nightmare, but the mare just knocked Celestia aside. Celestia just came at her again and again._

 _The ensuing battle destroyed the sisters' castle and much of the forest. After days of fighting, Celestia began to tire, but Nightmare seemed as strong as ever._

" _Huh, it's funny how pathetic you really are," Nightmare said coldly as she approached Celestia, "But as much fun as its been, I'm going to have to get rid of you now."_

" _No!" Celestia said as she got to her feet and ran back into the ruins of the castle. She came back with a wooden box and removed a bunch of small stones._

" _Ha! You think those puny rocks can stop me!" Nightmare yowled, "I'd like to see that." At that, Celestia powered the Elements and blasted the rainbow magic at Nightmare._

" _NOOOOO!" Nightmare screamed as she was dissolved into light and then carried to the moon._

" _I'm sorry sister, but there was no other way," Celestia said as a tear slid down her cheek, "Please forgive me…"_

 **END FLASHBACK**

 **That's all for this chapter! And once again, I apologize everypony if you found this chapter boring or really fast-paced, it's just really hard to make the original story K-rated, since it was… different. Well, anyway if you want to read a better version just check out "Responsibility and Rage" by adfghjkl, you'll find it at** **story/28488/3/responsibility-and-rage/chapter-three-the-prophecy** **.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all you guys in the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10: Dragonshy (Fixed)

**Hello everypony, sorry if this chapter is so long, I just have a lot that had to happen and so it ended up longer than I expected. Also, if you've read my author's bio, then you'll know how I plan to end my final story of the series. And finally, I went back through my story and updated a couple of things in Chapter 1. So be sure to check it out because it might give you another hint as to how I'm going to end my series in the far, far future. Anyway, here's the next exciting chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy.**

"…Luna…I…I had no idea," I stammered, shocked at what I just heard.

"It's okay little one, I have learned my lesson and won't take what I have for granted again," the blue alicorn assured me.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that…that your childhood was so sad!" I exclaimed as I wrapped my fore-hooves around her in a hug.

"But it was my doing that made it so," Luna said, looking puzzled before hugging me back.

"I still think it was terrible that you had to go through that!" I declared, releasing Luna and stamping a fore-hoof on the ground.

 **BANG BANG BANG**

We all jumped at a sudden pounding on the door (well, all of us except Luna, who seemed to be used to it). "Princess Luna? Celestia sent me to deliver a message," said a muffled voice. Luna trotted over and opened the door. Standing in the hall was a stallion guard dressed in gold armor. He was a black pegasus with sky blue hooves, feather tips, and eyes. His mane and tail were black and spiky with sky blue points and his cutie mark was a single sword.

"Yes?" Luna answered in a calm tone.

"Princess Celestia requests your presence in the throne room. We have an emergency," the stallion said respectfully as he bowed. He then turned and led Luna out of the study.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Nightshade called out as she dashed after them with Mom and Dad close behind.

"You guys go without me, I'll catch up. There's something I have something I need to do," I shouted to them as I raced back to our tower. I burst through the front door without knocking and caused Snowglider and Sunbeam to jump and scatter their card game everywhere. "Come quickly, there's no time to explain."

"Okay, just let me clean- **WOAH!** " Snowglider yelled as I grabbed her tail with my teeth and wrapped my fore-legs around Sunbeam before taking off for the castle. We arrived in the throne room to see my family, the princesses, and a ton of guards all yelling over each other (well, the princesses were just listening, everypony else were yelling over each other).

"What's going on?" I shouted to be heard. Nightshade walked over to me.

"There's a dragon spewing smoke all over Equestria and we're trying to think of how to get rid of the smoke," She explained. Just then, the stallion from earlier let out a yowl.

" **QUIET!** I think I have an idea," he said when the others settled down. I heard Sunbeam gasp behind me when she saw him. "Maybe I could get some weatherponies and Wonderbolts to help me keep the smoke clouds at bay while the rest of you come up with a more solid plan."

"That's a great idea!" Celestia replied, "But you'll need to hurry because the clouds are spreading fast."

"I'm on it," he said before taking to the skies.

"We'll help!" Sunbeam said as she and Snowglider raced after him, I just sighed before following. We had to fly at high speed for a full minute before we finally caught up.

"So where are we going?" I asked, looking over his shoulder at the map he held. He spun around and growled defensively at me.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" he demanded in a gruff voice. Snowglider and Sunbeam stopped behind me.

"I'm Dawnfrost and these are my friends, Sunbeam and Snowglider," I said in defiance, "And we're _here_ to help you." His eyes widened at the mention of my name.

"Princess Dawnfrost! Please forgive me, I had no idea it was you," he said, giving me the best bow he could while flying, "I just haven't had the chance to meet you or your sister yet, so I didn't know what you looked like."

"It's alright, accidents happen," I assured him, "So as I asked earlier, where are we going?" I pointed to his map with a fore-hoof.

"Well, according to the map, Cloudsdale is currently hovering near Fillydelphia," He stated proudly, "So that's where we're heading."

"You _do_ realize that map is of _last_ week, right?" I pointed out. He visibly cringed and groaned.

"Of _course_ it is! Why can't Cloudsdale just stay in one place for longer than a few minutes?" He put his head between his fore-hooves.

"Don't worry, we'll find it," Sunbeam said, wrapping a fore-hoof around his shoulders, "After all, it _is_ a giant, flying city."

"Yeah, a giant, flying city that can sit still for longer than a few minutes," He said drearily, "This is hopeless!"

"Hey, Mr. Shiny Pants! I know you feel like you're lost, but there are plenty of ponies in Equestria we can ask for directions!" Snowglider shouted, poking his flank with a fore-hoof.

"What did you just call me?" He asked with a puzzled look.

"That's not important! Where's the nearest town, village, or city?" Snowglider snapped impatiently.

"Well, we are above a small town called Ponyville," The dark pegasus answered. Snowglider immediately took off, leaving the rest of us puzzled. About a minute later, she returned with a sky blue pegasus in tow. I recognized the pony from the Summer Sun Celebration when I was stuck in the bushes.

"I'm back, and this here is Rainbow Dash," Snowglider explained, "She says she can point us to Cloudsdale, but we'll have to hurry because her friends are going to need her for a mission and they're just about to leave."

"Well then, lead the way," I said cheerfully. With that, we all took off towards the Everfree Forest. Hovering over the fields between Ponyville and the forest was the pegasus city of Cloudsdale.

"Thanks for your help Dash," Sunbeam said kindly.

"No problem," The blue pegasus said quickly, then turned to me, "Aren't you that pony that was messing around in the bushes at the celebration?"

"Yeah, that was me," I said feeling my cheeks heat up.

"I thought so. Well, I should probably get going," Rainbow Dash said before dashing off (sorry for the pun).

"Alrighty then. Let's go get some weatherponies!" The black pegasus yowled, "Split up and regroup in the fields below the city."

"You got it Shiny Pants," Snowglider said before racing off. The rest of us split up and went to gather our group of weatherponies. After we all arrived in the fields, we had 20 Wonderbolts and 30 other pegasi. I yowled to get the crowd's attention.

"Alright, everypony listen up! As you all have heard, there is a dragon spreading smoke across Equestria! Our job is to hold back that smoke until Celestia can find a way to get the dragon to leave! Do you all understand?" I shouted to be heard. Everypony just nodded. "Good, then let's go!" At that, we all took flight and charged towards the smog.

"For Harmony!" I cried as we heroically dived into the clouds.

"YAAAAAH!" Snowglider yowled behind me.

"For Equestria!" Sunbeam exclaimed as she dived in with the pegasus guard. I started blasting at the smoke with my magic, but I barely made a dent in the thick smog.

"HEE-YAH!" I cried as I used my charge attack on a bigger cloud, causing it to explode (I'm thinking about calling the move a fury jab but can't decide if that sounds good or not). I then twisted to dodge a Wonderbolt and hit another cloud with a charge attack before slicing some more with a beam of magic.

I was about to jab another when I got an idea, I flew above the smoke and used my magic to create a bubble around the smoke. I felt drained almost immediately and almost fell out of the sky. I struggled to hold the shield and stay airborne, and was about to collapse when the strain lessened.

"I hope you didn't think we'd leave you to do this alone now, did you?" A calm voice sounded behind me. I turned around to see Celestia, Luna, and…

"Shay! You came to help!" I cried, happily wrapping my fore-legs around her in a hug, also making sure I didn't block her wings.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I help my sister?" She replied, returning the hug. We released each other and returned our combined magic back to holding the shield, but even with four alicorns, we were unable to hold the smoke back for very long and finally, we had to drop the shield or risk falling from the sky. Suddenly, a huge dragon burst through the smoke and flew off, its wings blasting the smoke away.

"Hurray! We did it!" Sunbeam cheered as she crushed the black pegasus guard in a hug. Everypony let out cheers as we all landed back in the fields below Cloudsdale. As I looked around, I spotted Celestia and Luna and walked over to them.

"Hi Celestia. Hi Luna, thanks for the help," I said politely.

"You're welcome Dawn," Luna answered, "It's nice to get out of the castle once in a while, even if this wasn't what I had in mind." We all just laughed before Celestia and Luna told me they would see me back at the castle and flew off.

"Hey Dawn! Why don't you join us?" Nightshade called over to me. I noticed that everypony seemed relatively clean after flying around in the smoke. _Hmm…must have been when the dragon flew off,_ I thought, _it must've also blasted their coats clean too._

"We should probably get heading home," I replied.

"Alright, I'll go get your friends," She said before darting off.

"Sounds good," I responded as I turned and ran right into the guard from earlier, "Oop, sorry."

"It's alright, I was just coming to say thanks for the help," He said in a kindish voice.

"You're welcome," I replied, "Wait, I don't think I ever got your name."

"It's Nightblade," He said proudly.

"That's a lovely name," I complimented him.

"Thank you," He beamed.

"You're welcome," I told him kindly.

"Well, I should probably get back to the castle," He turned to leave, "Bye Dawn."

"Wait!" I called and he stopped, "How about you join me and me friends? We have plenty of spare rooms in the tower, and I think Sunbeam would be super happy if you say yes." I noticed the yellow pegasus hiding in some bushes behind him.

"Uh…" He looked at me in surprise, "I-I'd love too! Who wouldn't want to be friends with a princess?"

" **YIPEE!** " Sunbeam squealed in delight as she burst out of the bushes, causing Nightblade to jump. When Sunbeam noticed us staring at her, she blushed and looked away.

"See? I told you she would be happy," I stated, causing us all to burst out laughing.

"Hey! Mr. Shiny Pants! Sunny! Mrs. Covered-in-Soot! Are you all ready to go yet?" Snowglider shouted as she appeared above us with Nightshade following behind her.

"Snowy, first of all, his name is Nightblade, and second, what do you mean 'covered in soot'?" I scolded her, a little annoyed.

"I mean, you're covered in grey soot," She retorted smugly. I looked down to see that she was right, my fur was grey with soot.

"Well, it looks like we need to get home so I can stop pretending to be Shay," I groaned, everypony else just laughed.

"Sounds good to me," Snowglider replied, and we all started the long walk back to Canterlot since we were all too tired to fly anymore that day…

 **That's all for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Also, if anypony has a good name for Dawn's charge attack, I open to suggestions. 'Cuz I can't think of anything for it. Sorry if this chapter was a bit long though, there was just a lot that I had to develop and have happen here, so it got really long but not long enough to split in two. Anyway, as a consequence the next chapter ended up being kind of short so I'm sorry if it feels kind of boring, because it's going to be part 1 of: The Backstory Special! Where all of the other characters share their backstories so you can get an idea on how they got to where they are now.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11: Look Before You Sleep

**Hey everypony! Welcome back! I was in a great mood when I typed this up, because I've passed 200 views! Thanks everypony for reading my story because it means a lot to me. I apologize if this chapter is so short, but I kind of hit a bump in the road after last chapter, so I kind of ran out of time to make this any longer. Also I'm going to try to remember to say this next line at the start of every chapter from now on, and feel free to call me out if I don't.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next exciting chapter, and if you like it, make sure to read the next chapter!**

…After arriving in Canterlot, Nightshade went to get Mom and Dad, while the others went right to bed. I just went straight to my room and shut the door, feeling ready to collapse. _I should probably shower first,_ I thought to myself.

I trotted into the bathroom, shut the door, and jumped into the shower. When I finished, I dried off and went straight back into my room. I simply collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

I found myself in a dream, but something was wrong. Hmm… What was it again? Oh! I remember now! I was falling and couldn't move my wings.

" _ **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**_ " I screamed as I fell through the darkness. Suddenly, I crash landed on a wooden desk that exploded beneath me. "Uuh… Where am I?" I groaned as I tried to stand up. Surprisingly enough, I was completely unharmed (except for the fact that everything hurt). I looked around to find that I had landed in a small study that looked exactly like Princess Luna's.

"What am I doing here?" I said feeling puzzled.

"Move out of the way!" said a faint voice. I looked around but didn't see anypony. "Move over!"

"Who are you?" I asked the voice.

"Too late," the voice said directly above me before a pony crash-landed directly on my back.

"Oof!" Was all I could say.

"Sorry Dawn. I tried to warn you," Nightshade said as she helped me up.

"Shay? Why did you just have to land on me?" I asked annoyed.

"Hey, I tried to tell you to move," She retorted.

"Oh, that's right, sorry for snapping at you," I replied, feeling ashamed.

"AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA **AAAAAAAAA** _ **AAAAAAAAAH!**_ " A voice screamed above me before I got crushed by yet another pony.

"ACK!" I cried out, while Nightshade just giggled before helping the pony off of my back.

"Sorry sweetie, I didn't see you there," Mom said as I just groaned.

"It's alright," I said, noticing a faint voice in the distance before I rolled sharply to the right, just as Dad crashed into the spot I was just in.

"Ouch," he grimaced before getting up, "Where are we?"

"It looks like Luna's study," I answered.

"That's because it is," Luna said as she walked out of the shadows.

"Princess Luna!" I exclaimed, "I forgot that you can visit ponies' dreams."

"Yes, I can, and do any of you know why I brought you here?" The blue alicorn asked calmly.

"You want to finish our earlier conversation, right?" I suggested, afraid I had done something wrong.

"Yes, I do, and I believe it was your family's turn," she replied.

"Okay, but before we start, can I asked you for a favor?" I tried hopefully.

"Sure," she said politely. Pretty soon, Celestia, Snowglider, Sunbeam, and Nightblade joined us.

"Welcome," Luna told them.

"We're going to share stories about our past!" Nightshade said excitedly.

"And we will go first," Luna said as she and Celestia stood up and began to tell their story. When they had finished, everypony just sat there with shocked looks on their faces (except me and my family, since we already heard it).

"That sounds so sad," Sunbeam said sympathetically.

"Puh-lease, I've heard much sadder stories," Snowglider said in a squeaky voice, causing the rest of us to laugh.

"My turn!" Nightshade said quickly, I was surprised, because Nightshade was acting unusually cheerful all of a sudden. Either way, I just sat and listened to her story quietly, after she finished I started telling my past, which was followed by Mom and Dad's.

"Wow," Sunbeam said in an unsure tone, "I don't even have the words to explain how I feel about that kind of childhood."

"Well I do! I think that you guys have a very confusing and complicated family relationship if you just abandon each other like that," Snowglider explained, trying to sound nice, but it still hurt to hear her say that.

"Snowy," Sunbeam warned, glaring at the cherry pegasus.

"Sorry," Snowglider said quickly.

"It's alright," I responded, careful not to let my pain show.

"So who's next?" Nightshade asked impatiently.

"I guess I'll go," Sunbeam said as she stood, "Alright, I was born in Cloudsdale to my Mom, Windymane, and my Dad, Summerlight. I had a pretty normal life for a young filly. Err…that was until I was heading home after school and something crashed into me from behind. The next thing I know, I'm in the hospital with Snowy sitting next to me. After that, we became best friends and travelled across Equestria until we met Dawn."

"What hit you?" I asked curiously.

"I don't actually know," Sunbeam said distantly, "Snowy never did tell me." With that, we all turned to look at Snowglider expectantly.

"My turn already?" She sighed, "Oh all right. I was born in Cloudsdale to my Mom, Frostwing, and my Dad, Cherrytail. I also lived a pretty normal life, until I met Sunbeam…

 **That's all for this chapter! I'm sorry for the sudden drop off, but I ran out of time so I had to find some kind of cliffhanger to end on. Either way, I hope you liked it.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12: Briddle Gossip

**Hey everypony! I'm really happy today, because I just got my first follower! And to them I say: "Thank you very much, because it means a lot to me and makes this whole ordeal totally worth it. So thank you." And as always,** **I hope you enjoy this next exciting chapter, and if you like it, make sure to read the next chapter!**

 **BEGIN FLASHBACK**

… _Young Snowglider was racing through the streets of Cloudsdale with two young colts chasing after her. She narrowly missed a food stand as she blew past._

" _Hey! Get back here!" The lead colt shouted. He was orange with a dark red mane. His friend was pale blue with a purple mane._

" _You'll have to catch me first!" Young Snowglider retorted as she made a few sharp turns before ducking behind a stray cloud. The colts zoomed past the cloud. "Heh, heh. I think I lost them."_

" _Oh, do you now?" said the orange colt as he stepped through the cloud._

" _Yeah," said the blue one as he appeared right behind Young Snowglider._

" _YIKES!" Young Snowglider yelped as she took off._

" _Get her!" The orange colt yowled, giving chase. The three pegasi blew past stands and other ponies as the chase continued. Young Snowglider then darted through a race and knocked a dark pegasus from the sky._

" _Sorry," She called as she bolted off. She took a few more twists and turns at high speed before looking over her shoulder to see that she lost them. She looked forward just in time to see a yellow mare with a blue mane before crashing into the mare's back and sending her crashing into a wall. The mare hit her head and collapsed, while Young Snowglider just panicked._

" _Oh, what do I do? What do I do?" She said frantically, "I know! She needs to go to the hospital!" With that, Young Snowglider scooped up the yellow mare and carried her to the hospital._

 **FAST-FORWARD FLASHBACK**

 _Young Snowglider sat next to the yellow mare, talking softly to herself._

" _Don't worry, she'll wake up. Won't she?of course she will, but what am I going to tell her when she does? Oh, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" She rambled. Just then, the yellow mare began to stir._

" _Ugh, where am I?" She asked, rubbing her head with a fore-hoof._

" _You're in the hospital," Young Snowglider explained, "There was an accident and I was passing through when I saw you needed help._

" _And who are you?" The mare asked curiously._

" _I'm Snowglider," The cherry pegasus answered, extending a wing, "But you can call me Snowy."_

" _Hi Snowy," The mare said cheerfully, shaking Snowglider's wing, "I'm Sunbeam."_

" _Nice to meet you Sunny," Young Snowglider returned._

" _And thanks for taking me to the hospital," Young Sunbeam said gratefully._

" _Oh, don't thank me. Really," Young Snowglider said distantly. With that the two mares left the hospital, talking and laughing the whole way…_

 **END FLASHBACK**

"…And we travelled Equestria ever since," Snowglider finished. Sunbeam had a blank, shocked look while Nightblade had a look of pure rage for just a second before shaking his head and returning his face to a neutral state.

"Snowy…" Sunbeam trailed off.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner. I was just afraid you'd be mad at me," Snowglider said shamefully.

"No, it's okay. I… I just don't know what to say," Sunbeam said softly.

"I do!" Nightshade exclaimed excitedly, still making me feel uneasy, "Why were those two colts chasing you?"

"I mixed their rainbows so that they turned grey," Snowglider said mischievously.

"Snowy!" Sunbeam scolded, "Now why would you go and do that?"

"They put a thunder cloud in my saddle bags and got all of my stuff wet," Snowglider stated.

"Oh," Sunbeam said in understanding. Then everypony turned to look at Nightblade, who just sighed.

"Oh alright," he said half-heartedly, "I was born in Fillydelphia to my Mom, Darkwing, and my Dad, Ironhoof. I used to be a racepony, the third fastest pegasus in Equestria, until one day-," He never finished because the dream study collapsed and sent us all plummeting into the darkness…

 **That's all for this chapter! And sorry if it's a little short, I was on a time limit to write this so I couldn't make it too long. Either way, I still hope you enjoyed it.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13: Swarm of the Century

**Sorry for the long wait everypony. I tried to upload the chapter on Wednesday, but my computer crashed in the middle of the upload and corrupted the files for my next thirty chapters, so I have to retype them a few at a time. Also, in order to make this chapter for all of you guys (because I care more about you guys than I do myself), I have reached a new record of mine! I have so far gone nine days without sleep, so don't be surprised if there's a lot of grammar mistakes. And before any of you start telling me that going that long without sleep is "unhealthy," I already know that because I've already heard that from most of my friends. Anyway, here is chapter 13, and keep in mind that last chapter was a turning point where Dawnfrost starts to have a more important role in the castle. This is because I needed somewhere besides Ponyville for Dawn to live and since she _is_ a princess, I thought, _hey why don't we have her help out the princesses in Canterlot? Yeah, that's a great idea!_ Oh, sorry, because now I'm just rambling, so let's get back on topic. Because I feel bad for making you wait so long, chapter 14 isn't going to be "Winter Wrap-Up," because I want to fill you guys in on _how_ Celestia got rid of all of the parasprites. So I hope you all will enjoy the extra chapter. Anyway,** **I hope you enjoy this next exciting chapter, and if you like it, make sure to read the next chapter!**

…I woke with a start, looking around my room to get my bearings.

"What was that?" I asked, rubbing my eyes with a fore-hoof, "Why did Luna's control over the dream shatter?"

 _Knock, knock, knock!_

The sudden knocking caused me to jump, "Who is it?" I shouted, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I am Captain Sterling of the Royal Guard, your majesty. I have been sent to give you a message," a stern voice came through the door.

"Give me just a minute to get ready," I sighed as I got up and trotted to the bathroom, "And then I'll be right out."

"Yes ma'am," the Captain replied sternly. As I stood in front of the mirror, I noticed my mane was a mess. There were more knots, twists, tangles, and loose strands than ponies in Equestria. While I was busy attacking my disastrous mane with a comb, another knock sounded on my bedroom door.

"Hey Sis, you almost ready yet?" said the impatient voice of Nightshade, "We're all waiting on you." I just sighed and gave up on taming my wild hair. Instead, I just used my magic to make my horn disappear and put on my beach hat (Sunbeam was kind enough to grab it after me and Nightshade fought in the caves of Canterlot. Also, if I had used magic to try to style my mane, it would've made it look a whole lot worse. And I should know, because I tried it once. That day _still_ makes me shiver).

"I'm coming," I shouted as I opened my door to look at Nightshade, "What is it Shay?"

"Tia and Luna want us to meet them in the throne room. Something about an emergency," She said as quickly before grabbing me with her fore-hooves and dragging me to the castle.

"SHAY!" I shouted as we zipped out of the tower, "PUT ME DOW-OW-WOOOAH!" We dashed around corners and narrowly missed ponies as Nightshade flew as fast as she could. Finally, we burst into the throne room, were Nightshade dumped me on the ground and landed beside me.

"…Seems to be an infestation. And no matter what anypony does, we can't seem to stop them," a guard was explaining to the others. I looked around at everypony, there was Celestia sitting on her throne with Luna sitting on a second one right next to her. Somepony had brought in a long table with papers, maps, and diagrams scattered all over it.

On one side of the table, there were four Solar Guards on the right end and four Lunar Guards on the left end, while on the other side of the table, my friends sat with another Solar Guard. Mom sat on the far right with Dad sitting to her left, next to him was Snowglider. Sunbeam sat between her and Nightblade (I noticed she sat awfully close to the dark pegasus), the other guard sat next to him. Nightshade took the seat on the far left, forcing me to sit between her and the guard.

Once I was seated, I took a closer look at the guard and realized something odd about this one. They were a mare. She was a white pegasus with silver hooves and wing tips. Her eyes were sky blue like the streak running through her curly, silver mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a small shield, the face of which was sapphire blue with silver edges and a sky blue snowflake in the center.

"Hi, I'm Dawnfrost. I don't mean to sound rude, but… Aren't you a mare?" I asked in curiosity.

"Yes ma'am. Indeed I am," She replied respectfully (being a "Princess" is annoying. Especially since you're treated differently than everypony else).

"Then may I ask how you managed to become a Royal Guard?" I said carefully.

"Yes you may," She answered in a soft and gentle voice, "I was just a little filly when both my dad and uncle where part of the guard. There were sent to help fight off a dragon that was terrorizing Equestria. Eventually they managed to fight it off, but my father never came back. After seeing whatever had happened to my dad, my uncle trained me how to defend myself. Then one day I was being picked on by a bunch of bullies and the next thing I know, they were cowering in a bush. When I got home, my uncle noticed I had earned my cutie mark and enrolled me in the training program, and then I got accepted."

"Wow, that's amazing!" I exclaimed, "Although I didn't really catch your name."

"It's Sergeant Silverwing your highness," She bowed.

"Please, call me Dawn." I said, extending a wing before she shook it.

"Alright Dawn," Silverwing smiled.

"So what exactly is going on?" I asked, noticing the others had erupted into an argument.

"There have been several reports of an infestation of these small furry things that are eating all of the food and multiplying every time they eat something," Silverwing explained, ""And we're trying to figure out what to do about them."

"Oh, ok. What is everypony arguing about?" I asked, feeling puzzled.

"Somepony suggested that we all get butterfly nets and catch the creatures but we can't figure out where to put them after that," She said calmly.

"I see. Why don't we put them in the Everfree Forest?" I said loudly. Everypony stopped arguing and looked at me.

"Great idea!" Celestia declared, "Everypony get your nets while I go pay a student of mine a visit." With that, we all dispersed to get nets.

"Hey Sil?" I said, poking Silverwing's flank, "Would you like to join me and my friends? We could always use the extra help and we have plenty of spare rooms." (We have 493 empty rooms in our tower).

"I'd love too!" She said gratefully.

"Yay!" I cheered, "Okay, now who's ready to catch some critters?"

"We are!" Everypony cheered.

"Then let's go!" I cried, and we all took off for our first stop.

Manehattan…

 **That's all for this chapter! I'm really glad that it's finally posted because I really need some sleep.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Storm of Shadows

**Hello everypony, I regret to inform you that this isn't actually Chapter 14, it's just another author's note. JK! This is your extra chapter! And I have to let you know a couple of things before you start reading. First being that you are going to see a HUGE shift in Nightshade's personality from this point on. Secondly, whenever Dawn hits at something, she'll be using her charge attack, since I didn't get any suggestions for it. And finally, this is going to be _the BIGGEST_ plot twist I have ever written, so if you don't like it, feel free to criticize it to your heart's content! Still, I bet that _none_ of you could've seen this coming! Anyway, here's your first extra chapter. I hope you enjoy The Nightmare Rises Part 1! And if you like it, make sure to check out the next chapter!**

...It was night by the time we reached Manehattan, I looked over to Nightshade. She just had a blank look on her face.

"Shay? You ok?" I asked, feeling worried.

"I'm fine," She said coldly, "We should find somewhere to rest. We can stop the creatures in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," Snowglider agreed before we set off for the Inn (Yes it's the same one where I met Snowglider and Sunbeam). Once there, we rented a couple of rooms and went to bed. Thankfully, I didn't have any dreams that night.

When we had all gotten up and had breakfast, we set out with our butterfly nets and were ready to catch us some critters.

"Where is everypony?" Sunbeam noticed, and when I looked around, I noticed she was right. The city looked abandoned, the streets were empty and the small stands were all set up, but nopony was there to run them.

"Yeah, I thought this was supposed to be the busiest city in Equestria," Snowglider said in a snarky tone.

"That is rather odd, isn't it?" I asked, "I wonder what happened to them."

"It doesn't matter where they went!" Nightshade snapped at me, "All we need to worry about is catching these creatures and then moving on to the next location!" I cringed at her harsh tone, _this is the Nightshade I know and love, I was wonder why she was acting all cheerful in that dream_.

"Alright, let's start looking around, maybe we can find them," I said warily. Then we split up to cover more ground. I was walking down one of the alleys when I heard laughter behind me.

"Who's there?" I demanded as I spun around to see… nothing, "Where are you? Show yourself!"

"My dear sister, how can you be so blind?" a cold and harsh voice came from all around me as the shadows began to dance on the walls, "So young and foolish, always looking for the good in everypony, even when there isn't any. It's time for you to learn that friendship isn't the solution to everything."

"Who are you and what are you talking about?" I demanded. The shadows swirled around me before pooling together and taking the form of Nightshade. "Shay? What's going on?"

"You really don't know do you?" She just chuckled, "The 'Shay' you speak of never even existed! Your sister was erased from your life long before you can even remember! She was too weak to stop me! Just as you will be! This is the day that Harmony will fall! This is the day the darkness will rise! This day will forever be remembered as the Day of Shadows! And nopony will stop me!"

"What has gotten into you sister?" I asked, concerned. Nightshade glared at me.

"What has gotten into me? WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO IS WHAT HAS _ALWAYS_ BEEN IN ME! I am your worst Nightmare, I am everypony's worst Nightmare! I AM NIGHTSHADE FALLS AND EVERYPONY WILL BOW BEFORE ME!" She shrieked as she donned midnight blue armor (It looked exactly like the armor Nightmare Moon wore, except the color), her teeth grew into fangs, and her pupils narrowed into slits, "I really enjoyed watching your ignorance, it's a shame I have to banish you. But you'll have to wait your turn, because there are others I have to get rid of first." Then she dissolved into shadows.

"No!" I yowled and jabbed at the shadows but only succeeded in blasting a hole in the alley wall, "I need to warn the others." I shot out of the alley and froze on the street.

The city began to darken as a gusting wind began to blow. I looked up to see a pitch-black cloud of shadows block out the sky, throwing the city into total darkness. I lit my horn to allow me to see and dashed off, taking turns blindly before I came to a stop in the town square. I noticed a small glow in the center and made out my friends in a small group.

"Mom!" I called to her, she raced over and squeezed me in a hug.

"Dawn, you're okay! Where's Shay?" She yelled over the wind.

"I don't know! She disappeared before this storm started! I think she might have caused it!" I replied as the wind grew stronger.

"Why would she do this?" Dad sounded confused.

"I don't know! All I know is what she told me in the alley!" I shouted before explaining my encounter to them.

"What does she mean she's not your sister?" Sunbeam yelled, "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Guys! We can talk about this later!" Nightblade yowled, "The wind is getting too strong!"

"We need to find shelter!" Silverwing said with a worried look.

"Over there!" Snowglider pointed to a small, windowless house. We fought our way through the wind to the building and made it inside just as it began to rain liquid shadows.

"Help me lift this couch!" Silverwing grunted as I picked up the other end with my fore-hooves. We flew it over to the door and set it down to act like a barricade while we piled chairs from the dining room on top of it. The others gathered in the center of the living room while I flipped on the lights.

"Is everypony alright?" I asked, shivering from the sudden cold caused by all of the shadows. They all just nodded and continued to quiver in fear.

"What are we going to do?" Sunbeam whispered.

"First we need to find Nightshade," I said in a determined tone.

"And how are we supposed to do that with all of these shadows everywhere?" Snowglider said sarcastically. Then the lights flickered before going out, plunging us back into darkness.

"EEK!" Sunbeam shrieked as me and Mom lit our horns.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Snowglider huffed in frustration.

"Find some kind of light source so we can-," Silverwing started.

"Wait! Where's Nightblade?" Sunbeam wailed, panicking.

"He's gone!" Snowglider shouted.

"Alright! Everypony stay calm!" We can't help him if we're getting ourselves lost too!" Silverwing ordered, "Okay, pair up! Find a buddy and stay by their side _at all times_! Dawn, do you know any spells that can temporarily give the rest of us magic?"

"Yes but you might not like it and you'll only be able to cast very basic spells," I warned.

"That's fine, we only need to cast a lighting spell," She said quickly.

"Okay then, everypony gather around," I sighed, charging my magic. I first cast an illusion spell to make them appear to be unicorns, then a binding spell to trap them in the illusion, and finished with a transformation spell to make them become the illusion (I actually tried to turn them into oranges because that's the easiest variant of the spell, but anything would work just as well).

"What happened to my wings?" Snowglider cried in shock.

"I had to get rid of them because I can't do alicorns, they're too difficult to hold while I cast other spells," I explained.

"That's fine Dawn, you did great," Silverwing said gratefully. After a lot of arguing and stray levitation beams, we finally managed to get everypony's horns lit.

"Okay, get with your buddy and start looking for supplies like food, water, and materials for a fire. And remember to stay with your buddy at all times!" I said calmly. We into our groups, Mom with Dad, Snowglider with Sunbeam, and me with Silverwing. "Mom, Dad, you check this floor. Snowy and Sunbeam, you take the second floor. Me and Silverwing will take the basement. You all got that?" Everypony nodded and we split up to search the house…

 **That's all for this chapter! I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but it's the only place I can split the chapter without causing problems for the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Because things are about to get a whole lot more interesting in the next chapter. Including, THE _BIGGEST_ PLOT TWIST I CAN POSSIBLY THINK OF! Dunt dunt duuuuuuun! Anyway, stick around for the Nightmare Rises Part 2!**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next [spectacular] chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15: The First Light of Dusk

**Hello everypony! Are you all ready for the BIGGEST plot twist yet! If you are, then great! If not, then come back when you are. Before you all start, let me say thanks to all of you guys for your continued support! It really means a lot to me when I see that others like my story as much as I like writing it! And great news! I have passed 600 views! Yay! Thank you all! Now before I forget, let's get to the story! I hope you enjoy, and if you like it, make sure to check out the next chapter!**

…Me and Silverwing crept quietly through the kitchen towards the basement door. As we approached, a loud crash could be heard upstairs making us both jump.

"What was that?" Silverwing whispered, "Do you think Sunbeam and Snowy are okay?"

"I'm sure they're fine," I quietly replied, "Come on, we have to check the basement."

"Alright," Silverwing took a shaky breath as we descended the creaky stairs.

At the bottom, we agreed to follow the wall and stick together. After circling the room, we found three closed doors, a couple of candles, and some boxes of curtains. I dumped out the box quietly and put the candles in it before using my wings to hold it on my back.

"Which door should we try first?" I whispered to Silverwing.

"Let's start with the first and work our way over," She muttered.

"Alright, here goes nothing," I threw open the first door, ready to blast anything that shouldn't be there. The room was empty, there was nothing anywhere. "Well that's disappointing. I thought for sure there would at least be something here."

"Well, at least it's safe," Silverwing whispered optimistically.

"True," I said as I threw open the second door. The walls were lined with shelves of boxes. "Wow, that's a lot of boxes. Should we start checking them?"

"Yes, but we should stick together when searching," Silverwing answered. Together we counted ten boxes on each of the three shelves. We went to the first wall and started checking boxes side by side.

After our search, we found threes boxes of clothes, a box of umbrellas, five boxes of tools, six boxes of pictures and paintings, four boxes of winter coats and scarves, a box of candles and lightbulbs, two boxes of camping gear, five boxes of Hearth's Warming decorations, and three boxes of carpets and curtains.

"Well, at least we can use the candles and camping stuff," I tried to sound cheerful.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll find something better in the last room," Silverwing replied, "Because third time's the charm, right?"

"Mm-hmm," I nodded as I opened the last door to reveal a brick wall. "Umm… What in Equestria is this?"

"I don't know, why would anypony put a door in front of a wall?" Silverwing answered.

"What I'm interested in is what's behind this wall," I said, intrigued, "Sil, you might want to stand back." She took a step to my left so I could still see her. With that I hit the wall as hard as I could, blowing it to pieces.

"Sweet Celestia! What in Equestria was that?" Silverwing jumped at the explosion.

"I really don't know what to call it, but at least it removed the wall," I remarked.

"Well, what's inside?" She asked curiously.

"A long dark hallway that I don't think belongs here," I said as we stepped inside. The hallway twisted and turned through the darkness, leading us further and further from the basement door. Eventually we arrived at a dead end.

"That's it? No doors or rooms or anything?" Silverwing seemed annoyed. "Well that was just a waste of time."

"Come on, let's get back to the others," I said as I turned around and ran into another wall. "Oof! What in Equestria?"

"Great! Just great! Now we're trapped with no way out!" Silverwing just collapsed on the ground in defeat, "Now how are we supposed to get out?"

"All hope's not lost yet!" I declared as I hit the wall and blew it down just to be buried in the dirt behind it. "Ack!"

"Dawn!" Silverwing's voice was muffled by all of the dirt. I heard some scuffling noises from above me before I started to dig my way out. I felt the dirt start to give way, and I burst free of the mound before sliding down into the small room.

"Sil?" I asked, looking around for the silver pony. "Sil, you there?" I started to panic when I realized she was gone. "What do I do? I'm trapped in a small room under ground with no visible way out."

Then I got an idea. I jabbed the ceiling until most of it collapsed, leaving me free to move in my tiny amount of space left. Then I started digging upward. After a while, I finally broke through to the surface and pulled myself out of the ground. I had surfaced in a small park with a couple of benches and trees.

"Well, at least I got out of that room," I said to myself, "Now if only the clouds would go away." I heard laughter behind me and spun around.

"If only," Nightshade smiled maniacally, "But that's not going to happen and there's nothing you can do about it."

"We see about that," I snapped before rushing her with a jab. She leaped over it easily, landing behind me as I hit the ground and created a crater. I threw up a shield just as she shot a beam of magic at me.

"You are pathetic, just defending yourself and letting your friends take the fall for you," Nightshade sneered.

"You have no idea what you're talking about. I _always_ put my friends first!" I yowled as I lashed out at her. She jumped and countered with a splashdown, forcing me to change directions to meet it. The resulting explosion caused us to go flying and destroyed the park.

"Ugh…" I groaned from the collapsed side of a building. "What was that?" I struggled to stand up, covered in scrapes and bumps. I think one of my wings was broken, since I couldn't move it. I heard a groan of pain from another pile of bricks and saw Nightshade fight her way out of them.

"You will never beat me that easily," She growled. I just began to charge my magic for one last attack.

"I didn't plan on it," I replied shakily, "And Shay…"

"I have already told you. This 'Shay' you speak of never even-," She spat.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I released my blast, the rainbow of energy surrounded her as she wailed in rage. And as quickly as it came, the energy disappeared, leaving an unfamiliar alicorn lying on the ground.

The alicorn was a black mare with pale blue hooves and feather tips. She had dark red on the front of her hooves. Her mane and tail were pale blue with dark red along the edges. Her cutie mark looked exactly like Nightshade's.

The alicorn stirred and opened her eyes to look around. As soon as ruby-red eyes met my gaze, we froze. I immediately remembered who she was and I remember what happened to her. She had been consumed by shadows when we were only fillies, before she became Nightshade. Before I had forgot...

"Duskfire? Is that really you?" I whispered.

"Dawn?" She replied quietly, "Where are we?"

"We're in Manehattan," I replied, looking up to see the clouds break apart and form the citizens of this great city. The others reformed from shadows nearby, looking even more confused than my sister.

"Why are we here?" She asked, looking puzzled.

"Come on, I tell you while we head back to Canterlot," I said calmly.

"Alright, but I think we should walk," She says quietly.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, confused.

"Because your wing looks bent," She pointed out sternly. We just looked at each other before I started laughing.

"Come on, let's get going," I began as we started the long trek home…

 **That's all for this chapter! I hope everypony liked it! Because this is the start of a new beginning for the sisters.**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16: Winter Wrap-Up

**Hello** **everypony** **! Sorry for the long wait, but I was having some trouble coming up with an idea for Winter Wrap-up, so I almost gave up before I got a little help from my new co-author: Authora97. I would like to thank her for helping me with this transition chapter. Anyway, I'm** **gonna** **stop rambling now because Authora97 would like to say hi.**

 **Hey** **y'all** **! I'm AuthorA97.** **Dawnfrost** **asked me to join her in writing this and I signed up! Really excited that your reading this! Back to** **Dawnfrost** **!**

 **Now let's get to the chapter, shall we? We hope you all enjoy, and if you like it, slap the follow button so you can check out the next chapter!**

...Months had passed since Duskfire had been freed. She explained to everypony what had caused her to turn evil was some kind of possessive Nightmare. Well, everypony except Nightblade, who seemed to try as hard as possible to avoid her.

"Good morning Dawn," Duskfire said cheerily as I entered the kitchen.

"Morning. Has anything interesting happen yet?" I replied, yawning.

"Unless you consider Snowglider being buried under a mountain of pancakes interesting, then no, there's nothing interesting," She giggled.

"I thought I heard the sound of somepony being crushed by an avalanche of breakfast pastries when I got up," I said jokingly.

"Hey!" Snowglider's voice came from the kitchen, "It's not my fault Dusk knocked over the trays!"

"Then you shouldn't have put them in front of the door!" Duskfire countered.

"Where else was I supposed to put them?" Snowglider complained.

"How about on the counter where they should go?" I joined in, trying to hide a smile. Snowglider just huffed and faked being angry as she stormed off. Me and Duskfire just burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer.

Knock knock knock

I went over and opened the door to see who it was.

"Good morning Dawn. Princess Celestia would like to see you and Duskfire," Silverwing declared calmly.

"Alright, tell her I'll be right there," I said politely.

"Okay," She said as she dashed off to the throne room. I glided back over to the dining room and told Duskfire to come. Then we used our magic to hide our wings and set off for the castle. Eventually, we arrived at the huge, ornate doors of the throne room and trotted inside. Celestia and Luna were waiting on the thrones but stood up and came to join us when we entered.

"Good morning Dawnfrost, Duskfire. We have much to discuss," Luna greeted us.

"It has been noticed that while you have been called Princesses, you have never been given a coronation," Celestia continued, "So we have planned for you to have a small one this afternoon. However, I'm afraid the attendance will be limited to family, friends, and the palace workers."

"That's fine, I don't really want to be known by all of Equestria just yet," Duskfire said shyly.

"That's good. Then you should probably go to the forge to get fitted for you regalia," Luna shooed us with a fore-hoof, succeed in getting a raspberry from Duskfire before we raced off. Luna just smiled and rolled her eyes as we left.

The next few hours were spent being measured and fitted in the humid forges. Once finished, we started to leave and ran right into Nightblade who jumped in surprise. He tried to slip past but wasn't fast enough and Duskfire stopped him.

"Don't I know you?" She said, puzzling me since she hadn't had the chance to meet him yet. "Yeah, I remember, you were a racepony before your accident."

"I think you may have the wrong pony, your highness," He bowed, trying in vain to hide the cringe that crossed his face.

"No, I don't think so," Duskfire declared, "I may not know many ponies, but I'd recognize one of my old friends anywhere."

Nightblade looked miserable as he sighed, "There's no point in trying to deny it, is there?"

"Nope," Duskfire agreed, "My memory is a little fuzzy still, but I can _just_ remember that you name was Blazing Light. Am I right?" I just stood there feeling lost.

"Yeah," Nightblade sighed heavily, "That's me."

"Sweet Celestia! I'm even more confused now than I'd be if a pegasus could use unicorn magic without a horn!" I blurted in frustration, "What in Equestria are you two talking about?"

"Oh, sorry Dawn," Duskfire replied, "This here is my old friend Blaze."

"I thought you said your name was Nightblade," I glared at the dark pegasus.

"That's my name, Blaze was just my racing name," He explained.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense," I softened my gaze.

"We met when I was racing and got hit out of the sky by a red blur. I spiraled out of control and hit the ground hard. My wing was broken, and I was told I would never race again," He paused, looking at Duskfire gratefully, "Then I met Dusk, she helped me train and get better. In fact, it was her idea that I take to sparring against the guards with pillow swords. That training is what got me my cutie mark and made me join the Royal Guard."

"Wow, that's amazing... I never knew about this," I whispered in shock and awe.

"Umm...Dawn?" Duskfire sounded worried, "Are we supposed to be ready before or after the sun sets?" I glance over to a window to see the sun setting.

"Sweet Celestia! We need to get going! See you later Blaze!" I shouted as we bolted for the throne room. We burst through the just as the decorations were finished.

"Sorry if we're late," I panted as we approached Celestia.

"Actually, you're right on time," She replied with a giggle. "Now let's begin." She spread her wings behind her as she addressed us, Luna following her example, "Step forth young Dawnfrost Flitter and Duskfire Shadow."

We took a step forward as everypony bowed respectfully and then knelt before the Princesses.

"Dawnfrost, I am pleased to crown you the Princess of Harmony and of the Dawn," Celestia placed a pale orange crown with indigo edges on my head, "You may rise."

She turned to Duskfire, "Duskfire, I am pleased to crown you the Princess of Chaos and of the Dusk," She placed a pale blue crown with dark red edges on Duskfire's head. "You may rise."

"Congradulations," Luna smiled as the sun set and the moon rose.

"Thank you," I dipped my head in respect and thought I saw something fly past a window, "Excuse me for just a moment." I hurried over to the window while the party started.

Outside I saw a smoky gray pegasus with a black mane that flowed like fire. The pony shot across the sky faster than anything I had ever seen before they disappeared into the Night.

 _Who was that?_ I wondered, then shook off the thought and went to join the party...

 **That's all for this chapter! Sorry if it's short, but I was pressed for time. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **JK! It's not over yet!**

 **This next part isn't from the POV of Dawn. It's from that of a pony about as old as** **Celestia** **and Luna. This character won't appear more often until a later point in time, but this is where they come into play. Now I hope you enjoy!**

...Darkness. All we hast seen is thy never-ending darkness. Here on thy darkest star, we are all alone with only our thoughts and memories to pass thy time. We remember our sisters, thy ones whom trapped us here.

Afraid of our power, they just couldn't see the good we were doing for them. Instead, they trapped us here, unable to face our true power without those cursed pebbles.

Suddenly, there was a light brighter than thy light of the Sun. We were blinded before the light lifted us from thou black star and swept us off.

 _What in thy Kingdom of Light is happening to us?_ We pondered to ourself, _To_ _where art we travelling?_

Then a quickly as it came, thy light vanished. What we see is familiar but changed. _Home... We have finally been freed from thy stars._ We grinned, spread our wings, and took off into the night sky, _Now_ _we will make thine sisters pay for what they did to us..._

 **That's all for this chapter!**

 **So** **remember to let** _ **us**_ **know what you think, and** _ **we'll**_ **see all of you guys in the next chapter!**


	17. Actual Chapter 17: Call of the Cutie

**I'm back everypony! Sorry for the long wait, I promised my brother (Prince Astro Flare) that he could write the start of this chapter and he took forever. Anyway, it's finished and I'm sure you all want to get started so enough of my rambling. Enjoy! And if you like it, be sure to hit that follow button to get updates on my latest chapters!**

 **AuthorA97: Hey y'all. It's me again. It's been fun co-writing this with Dawnfrost. Hopefully we've given y'all a nice update this time around.**

Months had passed since the coronation. Nothing interesting has happened yet. Every day was as boring as the last. With absolutely _nothing_ else to do (and I have thoroughly checked) I decided to head to the library to see if I could find anything interesting. I spent hours searching through the maze of huge shelves and thousands of books before reaching the history section.

 _Probably not going to find anything interesting there_ _.'_ I thought. Except as I turned away, a small glint of light under a bookshelf caught my eye. _What is that?_

Lifting the book up with my magic, I got a better look at it. It wasn't an actual book. It was more of a dusty old scroll that had a metal clasp on it. I unrolled it a little to read the title: ' _The Galactic Era: Vol. 4: The Astral Empire_ _'_.

"The Galactic Era? What in Equestria does that mean?" I asked aloud.

"Wish to learn about the Galactic family? Then I do believe you should come with me." A strange voice came from behind me.

I jumped in surprise. The shock caused me to lose focus on the spell, dropping the scroll to the ground. There was a stranger wearing a hooded cloak. "And who are you, if I may ask?"

"One who knows that which you seek, and works here most days of the week." The stranger replied.

"So, you're the librarian?" I felt confused by all the rhyming.

"Yes, that would be right, I work here all day and all night." The stranger said.

"What's with all the rhyming?" I was starting to get annoyed.

"'Tis not for you to worry about, it just be the way my words come out." The librarian answered. "Now if you wish to learn the tale, you must follow me without fail." Then the librarian turned to walk out of the library.

"Wait up!" I quickly followed.

The librarian led me to a small round hut in a far remote corner of Canterlot. It was a long walk. Still, better than doing nothing.

"I will not be long to get what you seek, just wait out here and don't you peek." Then the librarian entered the hut. It took a few minutes before the door opened and a zebra stepped out with a saddlebag. "Here are the scrolls of the ancient past, just be careful, for they will not last."

"Alright, thanks." I picked up the saddlebag as she nodded. "Goodbye." She just nodded and went back into the hut. I made my way back to the Castle.

I went back to my room in the tower, not wasting a moment. Using my magic, I set the saddlebag down on my bed. Inside were four scrolls and the one I borrowed from the library. I opened the one labelled _Vol. 1_ and began reading...

 _The Galactic Era: Vol.1: The Atlas_

 _Map 1: The Galactic Empire:_

 **Since I can't put in pictures, I'll just describe them. This map looks like the map of current Equestria, except the small towns like Ponyville, Starlight's village, and Appleloosa aren't on it, the Everfree forest is tiny and is called the Cosmic Woods, Canterlot isn't on the map, the bigger cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus are small towns, and in the middle of the Everfree is a huge city with a castle called the Galactic Kingdom.**

 _Map 2: The Equestrian Empire:_

 **This map looks like map 1, but the Everfree is bigger and is now named the Everfree Forest, the Galactic Kingdom is now a small castle called Everfree Castle, and the Crystal Empire is starting to be cover in black crystals.**

 _Map 3: The Astral Empire:_

 **This map looks like map 2 except the Everfree is bigger, the Everfree Castle is called the Castle of the Princesses, the Crystal Empire is covered in more black crystals, and where Canterlot would soon be is a shadow castle called Nebula.**

 _Map 4: Equestria:_

 **This map looks like map 3 but the Everfree is bigger, the castle in Everfree is now a pile of rubble and is called the Castle Ruins, Nebula is now a small town with a small castle called Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire is gone.**

 _The Galactic Era: Vol. 2: The Galactic Empire:_

 _Section 1: The King and Queen_

 _Queen Galaxia_ _is an alicorn. She_ _ha_ _s_ _a white c_ _oat_ _with pale orange on her hooves, horn tip, and the edges of her wings. She had indigo on the fronts of her hooves and the edges of her mane and tail. Her eyes were indigo, her mane pale orange with the cosmos visible in it. Her cutie mark was a spiraling galaxy. She raised the Sun every morning and set it every night._

 _King Cosmo_ _is also an alicorn. He_ _ha_ _s_ _a dark grey coat_ _with a black mane and deep blue eyes. The edges of his wings, mane, and tail moved_ _in the way of the_ _shadows. The cosmos was visible in his coat and his cutie mark was Polaris. He raised the Moon and stars at night and set them in the morning._

 _Section 2: Tirek:_

 _A fearsome being named Tirek invaded the northern reaches of the Empire. Queen Galaxia and King Cosmo engaged the beast in combat but vanished before the fight ended. Together, their children found the Elements of Harmony and used them to banish Tirek from the land._

 _The Galactic Empire: Vol. 3: The Equestrian Empire:_

 _Section 1: The Rise of a New Empire:_

 _With the Queen and King gone, the rule of the kingdom fell to their children._

 _Princess Celestia was the oldest child, formed from Solar Ash_ _. S_ _he has a white coat with a soft pink mane and tail. Her eyes were magenta, and her cutie mark was the sun. She raised the Sun in the morning and set it at night._

 _Prince Astro was the second oldest, formed from Astral Sand, he was a light grey alicorn with sapphire blue eyes, black on the edges of his wings, black on the edges of his mane and tail, and black sparkles in his mane and tail. His cutie mark was a black star. He raised the stars at night and set them in the morning._

 _Princess Luna was the youngest child, formed from Lunar Dust, she was a dark blue alicorn with a midnight blue mane and tail and stars visible in them. Her eyes were teal, and her cutie mark was the moon surrounded by a black splotch. She raised the Moon at night and set it in the morning._

 _Section 2: The Rise of Shadows:_

 _Prince Astro began to be consumed by shadows and nopony knows why. He just silently slipped away, making way for the Dark Star._

 _The Galactic Era: Vol. 4: The Astral Empire:_

 _Section 1: The Dark Star Rises:_

 _Prince Astro was changed into a being known as Darkstar. He created his empire and raised the Dark Star. A black star that absorbs all the light in the sky. He ruled for three days and four nights._

 _Section 2: The Dawn Prophecy:_

 _"I banish thee to the darkened sky,_

 _To the darkest star seen by the eye,_

 _Unto forever thou shall not age,_

 _Not_ _til the Dawn rises and breaks your cage."_

 _This was the prophecy that Princess Celestia gave him as he was sent away_ _. Though many have speculated over the years, nopony has understood what 'the Dawn' means._

 _The Galactic Era: Vol. 5: Equestria:_

 _Section 1: Discord:_

 _The rise of Darkstar led to the rise of more shadow users. One of which was Discord. He alone, caused the destruction of most of Equestria. In order to defeat him, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to use the Elements of Harmony against him._

 _Section 2: Sombra:_

 _The Crystal Empire was taken over by the fearsome Sombra. In the battle that ensued, Princess Luna was infected with shadows, Princess Cadence lost her immortality, and the Crystal Empire and Sombra were banished. From this point on, Princess Cadence would have to be changed back into a foal each time she grew too old to rule the kingdom._

 _Section 3: Nightmare Moon:_

 _The seed of darkness in Princess Luna continued to grow until it took hold of her mind, turning her into Nightmare Moon. She grew increasingly jealous of her sister and tried to raise the moon forever, but Princess Celestia wouldn't allow that. The battle that followed destroyed the Castle of the Princesses, and in the end, Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon. In her despair, Princess Celestia refused to have the castle rebuilt and instead had a new one built and named Canterlot._

When I finished reading the scrolls, I felt even more confused than before I had read them. _Celestia and Luna had a brother? Why didn't they say anything about him? And if he would've been freed when the dawn rises, shouldn't he have been free by now? I should go and ask Celestia about this._ Without another thought, I left my room in search of the Princess of the Sun.

 **That's all for this chapter! I hope you all liked it, because this chapter is the end of the setup for Season 2. And that season is going to be BIG!**

 **So remember to let us know what you think, and we'll see all of you guys in the next chapter!**

 **AuthorA97: She really does mean big. Not gonna say how big, in case that spoilers anything. Huh. Hmm. Can I say it's chaotic? Is that too much of a spoiler?**


	18. Chapter 18: Fall Weather Friends

**I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Wow! It feels great to say that. So, did you miss me? Just kidding. Back on topic, sorry for the overly long wait, but I hope you guys will find it worthwhile. Anyway, you're probably impatient for the chapter so I'll cut my blabbering to a minimum and just let you get started. As always, I hope you enjoy this next exciting chapter and if you like it, just slap that follow/watch button so you can stay updated. And now, a word from Authora97:**

 **Authora97: What's up everybody?! Happy to see y'all and be seen. We're sorry it's been so long. Hopefully the chapter makes up for it!**

…As I headed for the throne room, I noticed that the halls were quiet and empty. _Where is everypony? Did something happen?_ I thought as I picked up my pace. I burst into the throne room, throwing the doors wide open. The room was completely deserted. Panicking, I began to run through the castle until I made it to the barracks.

There was nopony there. _What could've happened?_ I wondered. _Could it be Nightshade? No, it couldn't be… Could it? NO! I refuse to-_

" **ACK!" CRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAASH!**

I flinched back into reality. The sounds came from the armory across the hall, so I quickly raced over to check it out. I was greeted by a huge, quivering pile of armor that said. "Mmmf!" I quickly picked up the armor and set it in neat stacks against the wall. There was a sharp gasp behind me before I was tackled in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was doing a routine inspection when the armor fell. I thought I was a goner!" A familiar voice exclaimed cheerfully.

"Nightblade! Thank Celestia I found you, do you know where everypony went?" I asked rapidly.

"Umm… Well, Snowglider went for a short flight, Sunbeam went to help in the gardens, Duskfire's in the library, and your parents are helping in the kitchen. The guards have the day off. As for the princesses, Luna's sleeping, and Silverwing and Celestia are in Ponyville. They won't be back until sometime tonight." He answered quickly.

"Oh, well that explains a lot. Thanks." My cheeks went flush with embarrassment. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." He said as he went back to inspecting the armor. I tried to think of what to do first, until I noticed I had wandered to the library.

 _Eh… Might as well look around._ I thought as I scanned the shelves. I went to turn a corner a smashed into Duskfire.

"Eep!" She squealed in surprise.

"Sorry sis, I didn't know you were there." I whispered.

"It's alright." She smiled. "Hey, you don't happen to know where the Daring Do books are, do you?"

"Sure, just follow me." I replied as I led her through the never-ending maze of shelves. Eventually, we reached the shelf I was looking for. "Here we are, Daring Do!"

"Thank you, I've been looking everywhere for these books, I don't think I'll ever learn this library." She said gratefully.

"You're welcome." I smiled. "I going to go see if Sunbeam needs any help in the garden, do you want to come?"

"I would love to!" Duskfire exclaimed. "But I have a lot of Daring Do books to read, so I'll have to say no. Sorry."

"That's ok, you don't have to help if you don't want to." I said, understanding. "See you later."

"Bye." she said as I left. I quickly made my way to the gardens, passing Nightblade on the way. I found Sunbeam frantically searching through the flowers.

"Hey Sunbeam, what are you doing?" I asked quizzically.

"Trying to find my tiny shovel. I know I put it right here!" She spun in a circle. I saw a glint of light in a patch of flowers, I reached down and picked up the tiny shovel and dropped at her hooves.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Yes! Thank you!" She wrapped me in a hug.

"You're welcome." I said kindly. "So do you need any help?"

"Yes, could you dig the holes while I plant and fill them?" She replied quickly.

"Sure!" And with that, we got to work. Planting the flowers and plants to a few hours, but finally, we finished.

"Thanks for the help, Dawn." Sunbeam said as she grabbed a nearby hose.

"No problem, that's what friends are for." I smiled cheerfully.

"I can take care of things from here. Why don't you go and get cleaned up? You're covered in dirt." She suggested while turning on the hose.

"Okay, I talk to you later."

With that done, I made my way to the tower. I had just passed under a tall tree when Snowglider came flying out of nowhere and crash into it.

"Oww…" She moaned from the tree.

"Are you okay?" I asked, flying up to her.

"I don't know." Snowglider replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Am I?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Hold still." I used my magic to untangle her from the tree branches. Once she was clear I gently set her on the ground.

"Uh… Do you have a spell to cure a broken ego?" Snowglider asked hesitantly. I just glared at her. "Heh, heh… Never mind, but thanks for the save."

"You're welcome." I smiled. "Well, I need to get going, talk to you later."

"Bye." Snowglider called from behind me.

I had just entered the castle when I notice a thick, black smoke hung in the air. I followed it until I made it into the kitchen, which was overrun with flames. The chefs and my parents trying to fight the blaze with water, but they weren't making any progress against the inferno. I cast a shield around them before I used an aqua spell to flood the kitchen and put out the fire. Once the fire was gone I used a restoration spell to repair the damages to the kitchen. The danger gone, I released the shield. Afterwards, I promptly collapsed to the ground.

"Dawn! Are you okay?" My mom rushed over to me.

"I'm alright." I said weakly as I shakily stood up.

Well, in that case, thanks for the rescue." My dad said gratefully.

"You're welcome." I groaned.

"Princess Dawnfrost, you should probably get some rest." Came a raspy voice. "You'll need it very soon." I whirled around to see a dark stranger behind me.

There a pony in the doorway. His gray coat blended in with the remains of the smoke. His eyes stood out through the smoke, a fiery red beneath his horn. His hooves were a matching red. Though I strained to see it, his cutiemark was a black star inside a red circle. I gasped when I saw what had been blocking the cutiemark. Wings.

Another alicorn.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"You will know when the time is right." And with that, he was gone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, feeling nothing but confusion. I slowly left the kitchen and started back to my tower, ignoring my parents' questions.

There was no point wandering around the palace after that. I stormed up to my room, slamming the door behind me so hard the wood creaked.

I turned to my bed and noticed a few notecards stacked neatly in the center. I picked them up and began to read:

 _Hey Dawn, thanks for the help in the armory. If you hadn't been there, I might've been buried for days! It makes me glad to have a friend like you. If you ever need help, feel free to ask._

 _-Nightblade_

 _To the greatest sister ever! Thank you, I've been searching that library for days! I had begun to think that I'd never find those books! I owe you one!_

 _-Duskfire_

 _Hello Dawn, thanks for helping me with those flowers. It would've taken me days by myself! If you ever get into trouble, I'd be happy to help in any way I can!_

 _-Sunbeam_

' _Sup Dawn. I'm still never found out, is there a spell for a broken ego? Heh, heh, just kidding. Seriously, thanks for the assist. Although, I still can't believe I crashed! Anyway, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask._

 _-Snowglider_

 _Dear Dawnfrost,_

 _Thank you for stopping that fire, it made us really proud to see the strong mare you have become. Keep up the great work and remember we're always here if you need us._

 _-Mom and Dad_

After finishing, I couldn't help but smile…

 **Well, folks. That's all for this chapter!**

 **So remember to let us know what you think, and we'll see all of you guys in the next exciting chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19: Suited for Success

**Dawn: Hellooooo everypony! I have returned once again! And with me I've brought another wonderful chapter! Honestly, it was a lot of fun writing this chapter because having Luna as a child added a whole new perspective to this story and opened a ton of possibilities. I don't really plan on having Luna stay a child after this, but I had so much fun writing her parts that I'd be willing to bring her back if you guys want to see more of her. Before I forget, Kudos to anypony who guessed the mysterious alicorn's identity before I pretty much gave the answer in this chapter. By the end of this, if you** _ **don't**_ **know who it is, then you are going to be pretty lost here. Anyway, that's all I have to say for now, so without further ado… A word from Authora97** **:**

 **Authora: Hey you guys! Sorry this had taken so long. We've been doing a lot of stuff in our lives. It hasn't stopped us before, so it won't stop us now! I'm super excited about this update for y'all!**

 **Dawn: Well, as always, I hope you all enjoy this next exciting chapter! And if you like it make sure to slap that follow button to stay posted on the newest chapters!**

"…That's the thirtieth fire this week!" I cried in shock. It had been three months since my encounter with the mysterious alicorn and magical black fires had been popping up all over Equestria ever since. I still hadn't told anypony about the stranger yet.

"I know." Celestia said calmly from the head of the table. Luna sat beside her and the captains of the guard sat in the remaining seats with Duskfire seated next to me. "And they seem to be getting more powerful and even more frequent."

"I'm not sure how much more of this me and Luna can take." Duskfire sighed in exhaustion. She and Luna seemed to be the only ponies who could put out the magical fires. "If only we knew what was causing them."

"Maybe it's some creature from the depths of the Everfree Forest?" A captain suggested. Celestia appeared to consider it.

"It must be, Sister." Luna murmured quietly, since she hadn't slept in weeks. "Nothing else could be causing such chaos and able to hide from us so easily."

"Heh, heh." I chuckled nervously. "Unless it isn't from the Everfree." Everypony turned to look at me.

"What do you mean, Sis?" Duskfire asked with and quizzical look on her face. "What else could it possibly be?"

"Umm… I th-think it c-c-could be an alic-corn…" I stammered nervously. Celestia and Luna simultaneously turned their heads to look at each other before everypony burst out laughing.

"Where in Equestria did you ever get that idea?" Duskfire asked once everypony had mostly settled down.

"Uhh… I s-saw one…" I swallowed hard. "About th-three months ago, he just appeared out after I had put out a huge kitchen fire." Everypony just sat their looking like they were about to explode. "I'm serious!"

"She's not lying." Celestia declared. "She believes she actually saw one. Do you remember what he looked like?"

"Actually, I do." I straightened up, feeling more confident. Then I described exactly what I had seen. After I finished, Celestia and Luna just looked at each other, their eyes wide in shock.

"Could it be…" Luna whispered before trailing off.

"It appears so, Sister." Celestia agreed before standing and addressing the rest of us. "This meeting is dismissed. Dawnfrost, you wait, the rest of you can go. We will meet to discuss more later." As the others trotted out of the room Celestia and Luna came and sat down beside me.

"What do you need?" I asked politely.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions for us." Celestia nodded to me.

"Okay then." I started. "Who is he?"

"I'm sure you already know the answer." Celestia smiled knowingly. "You just don't realize it yet."

"Huh." I sighed in frustration. "Fine, then how do you know him?"

"He and I were very close. We would spend the long hours of the night together." Luna said quietly, looking depressed. "We used to share stories and watch the sky every night."

"It sounds like you two had a lot of fun." I said softly.

"We did." She replied in a whisper.

"Then why did he leave?" I asked calmly. Luna mumbled so quietly, that I couldn't hear what she said. "What was that?"

"He…" She began in a whisper. "He…" Then her voice broke as tears spilled down her cheeks. "He didn't have a choice! It was the only way to keep everypony safe!" Seeing her sister crying, Celestia wrapped a wing around Luna and held her close.

"I don't understand." I felt puzzled. "What happened to endanger everypony?"

"…Evil happened." Luna whispered softly before her horn flashed with the light of a spell and she started to glow brightly. I shielded my eyes with a wing until the light had faded. I froze when I saw that Luna had changed. She had used an age spell to turn herself back into a little filly.

"What…" I trailed off. Luna then disappeared into Celestia's mane. Celestia just smiled and closed her eyes.

After a long pause a soft voice came from the white alicorn's hair. "I miss him, Tia."

"Me too." Celestia murmured softly.

"When can go back to Sieveylon?" Came Luna's soft voice.

"I don't know, Lu." Celestia responded quietly. "I don't know…"

"What is Sieveylon?" I asked, confused.

"Home…" Celestia gazed longingly out the balcony doors.

"What happened to it?" I asked.

"THE BIG MEANIE CAME!" Luna wailed from Celestia's mane.

"Who?" I felt very confused by her response.

"Tirek…" Celestia whispered, causing a sudden dread to flow through me.

"Oh…" I said in understanding. It was just then that Luna peeked out of her hiding place and saw me.

"Tia?" She whispered softly. "She's here…"

"Who?" Celestia glanced around the empty throne room. Luna slowly crept over to me before climbing onto my back and wrapping her tiny hooves around me in a hug. "Oh…"

 _What is she talking about?_ I mouthed to Celestia.

 _She thinks you're Queen Galaxia, because you do kind of look like her,_ I didn't know how, but I could swear that we had this conversation before because I remembered her saying that (I later found out that she had implanted a memory into my mind, and I can't even tell you how she managed to do that, so don't ask me).

 _Oh,_ I mouthed, _Why doesn't she recognize me?_

Once again, I remembered her response, _She blocked all of the memories she had of her being older. You know, I can see how she might've mistaken for Mom, you look almost exactly like her. Here give me a second…_

As soon as the thought finished, Celestia had cast a spell and the throne room fell away. Then I suddenly found myself chasing a young Luna. _Through Celestia's eyes,_ I realized.

"Hee, Hee." Luna giggled happily. "You'll never catch me Tia!"

"Oh yes I am!" Celestia shouted. Then just as she was about to catch Luna, an alicorn colt about Celestia's age (In the memory) swooped in and snatched Luna before taking to the skies. Celestia took off after him.

"Astro! Get back here!" Celestia yowled.

"You have to catch me first!" He called back. Then in a burst of speed Celestia caught up and wrapped her fore hooves around the colt's wings. After they had crashed to the ground, they just lay in the grassy field laughing. Nearby, there was two alicorns that clearly had to be Queen Galaxia and her husband, King Cosmo.

And just like that, the memory was gone.

"Wow." I said in awe. "It looks like you guys had a lot of fun together."

"We did." Celestia sighed. "Then Tirek came and took it all away from us. With our parents gone we had to take control of the kingdom before we were ready, and it was that responsibility that tore us apart."

"That's terrible!" I exclaimed.

"I must say, that it wasn't as bad as sitting on that dreadfully cold star. Did you know that it was Solaria here who put me on it?" Came the deep voice of the mysterious alicorn. I shot up and whirled around to face him (Nearly throwing Luna off in the process). Celestia appeared beside me.

"I'm sorry." She explained. "I never wanted to do it, but you left me no choice."

" **I don't care!** " He boomed, causing Luna to whimper on my back. " **All I want is to make you feel exactly how I felt all those years you had imprisoned me! And nothing is going to stop me!** " With that he stamped his fore-hoof and created a ring over black fire around us. " **The Dark Star** _ **will**_ **rise! AND** _ **ALL**_ **OF EQUESTRIA SHALL BURN!** "

"Why must it be this way?" Celestia pleaded.

"Maybe _this_ will answer that question." He laughed maniacally as he kicked a small heart shaped locket at Celestia. "Look _familiar_ Solaria?"

Celestia stood in shock before whispering quietly. "The Rainbow…"

 **That's all for this chapter! Stay tuned for the rest of an extra special five part bonus event! This was part one of a two part arc. The next three chapters are going to be a three part special arc because I've finally made it to chapter twenty! Yay! So don't be surprised if next chapter takes place in a completely different point in time. Okay, that was all I had left to say.**

 **So remember to let us know what you think and we'll see all of you guys in the next magically spectacular, adventurously amazing, action packed, young Luna filled, family friendly chapter!**

 **If that didn't get you excited, then I don't know what will.**

 **:P**


	20. An Incredibly Important Intermission!

**Hello everypony! I'm sorry to say that this is not chapter 20 but it is a REALLY important message, so please read it. But before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge the help I've had in getting this far. First, I'd like to thank you all so much for your continued support. I'd also like to give a special thanks to Deviant Artist Angelectra for you're wonderful advice! You'd never know how grateful I am for it. Next, I'd like to give a huge hug to my outstanding co-author: Author97! Without you, my grammar would surely be catastrophic. And one final thanks to Fanfiction Author bluecatcinema! Without your wonderful comment, I would've given up long ago. Okay, now we can begin the important part. It has been pointed out to me that I've made a few oofs in my story, and I reread and notices further issues with it. So, I've gone ahead and fixed them for you all. For those of you that don't want to go back and reread everything, I've made a list of all of the changes down below. So let's get to it!**

 **First: It has been mentioned that I had too much info in the first paragraph of Chapter 1, so I spread out some of that info throughout the story.**

 **Second: In that same paragraph, there's a lack of context to what's going on. This is because the first sentence is saying: "Hey! This is what's going on but before we get to that. This is the story of how we got there." Which is also the explanation to Nightshade's lack of motive.**

 **Third: The spontaneous pregnancy. Yeah, I've put the reasoning behind it in the foot note of Chapter 1.**

 **Fifth: Chapter 8 was a duplicate of Chapter 7 so I went back and changed that slight problem.**

 **Sixth: In the backstory special, Nightshade appeared to be acting very strange. That was because Duskfire was possessed by a Night Mare (a living shadow) and in the dream realm, that Night Mare had to hide from Luna so it wouldn't be destroyed. The behavior was Duskfire's personality poking through.**

 **Seventh: In the end of Chapter 15, I added in a bit more info to help you understand why Dawnfrost knew Duskfire just then and not sooner.**

 **And Finally: I gave no context behind the name "Solaria." Don't worry you learn why the stranger said that in the next few chapters.**

 **Well, I hope this answered all of your questions. If anypony notices any problems, has any advice, has a request, wants to make** _ **any**_ **suggestions, or needs information, please leave a comment to let me know. I'd rather have negative comments than no comments.**

 **So until next time, I'll see y'all on the brighter side of everything!**


	21. Chapter 20: The Rainbow of Harmony

**Hello everypony! I'm back with another spectacular chapter! This is the start of a three part special event that I'm doing for you guys (Authora doesn't know about it yet)! I realized some context was needed for the end of the last chapter, so I decided to give it to you guys from the eyes of Prince Astro himself! Part one is the context on the mysterious locket and is the setting for the first** _ **real**_ **problem Equestria had for thousands of years. Part two is the** _ **first**_ **battle against Tirek. And part three is the** _ **official**_ **coronation of the royal siblings, the original battle with Darkstar, and the following celebrations. It should give any info that I haven't already explained. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy these extra chapters! They were actually ideas my brother came up with for his OC's backstory (Yes, Astro was his idea) but he was never able to write them so I decided to adopt his character into my story. Sorry if I'm just blabbering now, here's that extra chapter I promised, and remember, if you like it make sure to pound that follow/watch button to stay posted on the newest chapters!**

 _Equestria, a place where everypony lives in peace and harmony. HA! If only…_

 _We once lived peacefully, but that all came to an end when darkness fell upon the land. It came in the form of a monster, one that came from the frozen north to drain the magic and life from the land. His name… is Tirek. By the time my parents, Queen Galaxia and King Cosmo, discovered him, Northern Equestria was nothing but a barren desert. In a brave attempt to stop him, my parents left to face him in battle._

 _That was a month ago…_

 _My sister, Solaria, and I had begun to fear that they would never come back. At least, until Solaria found an ancient scroll that led us to the location of a powerful artifact that might be able to defeat Tirek. Together we left at dawn, when our younger sister, Luna, had gone to sleep. It took a week of traveling across Equestria for us to make it to the Valley of Dreams, and form there, the obsidian Castle of Dreams…_

I snapped awake, on the verge of crying out. I could still feel the icy grip of a nightmare. After a few moments, I was able to settle my racing heartbeat enough to survey my surroundings. I was laying in a grassy clearing squished between two mountains. In front of me stood the ancient, black castle. A young mare ( **DawnfrostFlitter/Dawnfrost Flitter: By this I mean a teenager** ) sat at a small campfire nearby. She was a white alicorn with a soft pink mane that draped across her face, hiding one of her vibrant, magenta-colored eyes.

"Good evening Astro," She smiled faintly, "I thought you'd _never_ wake up! I was half tempted to go in without my baby brother."

"Hey! Don't you dare call me your ' _baby brother'_ again! You know that I'm only a day younger than you!" I yowled, "And you wouldn't _dare_ go in alone because you're _terrified_ of the dark! Isn't that right Aria?" She gave me a you-had-better-run-before-I-get-up-and-turn-you-into-a-mouse look. "I'm just kidding! 'Twas just a joke! Seriously Aria, you really need to get a better sense of humor."

Before I could even blink, I felt the blast launch me into the air and sent me crashing to the ground, hard. Upon impact, I could feel the snap in my right wing before pain like liquid lava poured through my body. By some miracle, I managed to keep myself from making a sound, but I knew right away that something was broken. Standing, I pinned my wings to my flanks to keep the pain at a minimum.

Solaria rushed over to me, speaking quickly and sounding worried, "Astro! Are you okay? I didn't mean to-"

"To what? To hit me? To break my wing? Seriously, what did you _think_ was going to happen?" I couldn't keep the anger out of my voice, "You're an alicorn for pony's sake! You should be able to keep your magic under control!" I stormed off towards the castle's doors. Solaria quickly followed. When we reached the base of the enormous obsidian barriers, they silently glided open to reveal nothing but darkness.

" _That's_ not creepy at all," Solaria remarked sarcastically while I ignored her and stepped inside. I didn't get very far before I was met by thin air and fell (It was at this moment that I regretted teasing Solaria). I landed softly in a hallway made completely out of a gray stone that seemed to glow faintly. There was nothing but darkness where the roof should be.

"Hello?" I called out, "Anypony there?" My voice echoed down the hall.

"Hi!" Said a cheery voice behind me. I nearly jumped out of my horse shoes in terror. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. My name's Opal Mist, but you can call me Misty! What's your name?"

"I'm Astro," I turned around to see a white pegasus with a light gray mane. "Nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure! So, what brings you here?" Misty smiled.

I hesitated before answering, "My home is under attack and I can to get help."

"So you're here for the Locket," She said distantly.

"Yes," I replied, "Could you help me find it?"

"Sure," Misty beamed, "Follow me." She turned and turned and led me down the hall. After walking for what felt like forever, we came to a door.

"Welcome to your first test!" Misty exclaimed, "This door is locked and you have to open it!"

"That sounds easy enough," I said, stepping in front of the door. Placing my horn on the knob, I cast a spell to unlock it. Nothing happened at all. In fact, a quick glance at the doorknob told me that there wasn't even a lock. I tried opening the door and was surprised when it wouldn't budge.

"What in Equestria…" I mumbled. Then an idea came to me. I raised a fore-hoof and knocked on the door. It opened silently to reveal another long hallway.

"Congratulations! You passed!" Misty cheered, "Sadly, this is as far as I can go. Somepony else will take you further."

"Thank you Misty," I bowed my head gratefully, "Goodbye."

"You're welcome," She smiled, "It was nice meeting you. Goodbye Prince Astro." I stepped through the door which closed behind me.

"Howdy," said a heavily accented voice, "Ah see ya passed the first test."

"That is correct," I replied, " I'm Astro."

"Nice ta meet ya, muh name's Barley Harvest and ah'll be yer guide," Barley said as he stepped into view. He was a tall, yellow-colored stallion with a black mane. "This'a way."

We walked for an eternity until at long last, we stepped into a large chamber. In the center stood three pedestals, the first held a multi-colored rose, the second held an obsidian sword, and the third held a heart-shaped locket.

"Ah reckon this'll be yer second test," Barley explained, "these are artifacts of power an' all three'll help be able ta save yer home, but ya only get one choice. So choose wisely."

"Got it," I replied and trotted over to the pedestals. The pillars were labelled, there was The Rose of Power, The Sword of Conquest, and the Rainbow of Harmony. I was just about to take the Rainbow when I remembered that this was a test. It was this thought that made me turn to face Barley and say, "The best choice is no choice because to take one is to show favor of one power over another and such would upset the balance of Harmony and Chaos."

"That'd be correct," Barley replied, "Ya passed the second test. Ah'm afraid this'd be as far as ah can take ya. 'Twas nice meetin' ya Prince Astro."

"Thank you for your help," I responded, "Goodbye Barley." Then I stepped through the door that had opened in the back of the chamber.

"Are you kidding me? _Another_ hallway?" I yelled in frustration.

"Hiya!" Said a soft voice, "I'm Sellia Moon ( **pronounced See-lee-uh** )."

"Hello, I'm Astro," I replied as Sellia trotted towards me She was a light green unicorn with a darker green mane.

"Good job on the first two tests," Sellia nodded, "but don't think the final test will be so easy."

"Final test?" I asked.

"That's right," She smiled, "Follow me!" She turned and raced down the hall, leaving me struggling to catch up. "Catch me if you can!" Sellia shouted before turning down another hall. I focused on catching up, but Sellia was fast for an average unicorn and she kept making sudden turns that forced me to slow down.

Eventually, I decided there was only one way to catch her. I had to fly (I know that sounds stupid but it was true), so I spread my wings and, ignoring the pain, took off. I slowly began to gain speed as pain as fierce as fire shot through my wing.

"Gotcha!" I cried as I landed on top of Sellia. She wriggled away and stood.

"About time!" She huffed sarcastically, "You passed the final test."

"I did?" I said, feeling like I missed something.

"Yes silly," Sellia remarked, "And that means that means I must say goodbye. It was nice meeting you, I had a lot of fun."

"So did I," I smiled, "Goodbye Sellia."

"Goodbye Prince Astro," She said, smiling back, "And good luck defeating Tirek."

"Wait, how did-" I started before noticing that she had vanished. I just sighed and stepped through another magic doorway.

I had entered a chamber with a small stone walkway leading to a platform surrounded by what appeared to be a bottomless pit. In the center of the platform was a stone pedestal.

" **Welcome young Prince** ," a powerful voice boomed, " **to my chamber.** "

"How do you know me?" I demanded.

" **I know a lot, little one** ," the voice continued, " **for your parents are mere children compared to me! I have lived** _ **countless**_ **millenia!** "

"Who are you?" I asked, fear tingling it's way down my spine.

" **Who am I? Who am** _ **I**_ **?** " The voice burst in outrage, " **Foolish child, I am only the most powerful unicorn to ever live! I am Starswirl the Bearded!** " The entire chamber shook to his voice before an explosion of light blinded me. I rubbed my eye with a fore-hoof and blinked the tears away.

On the walkway stood a tall stallion. He wore a blue cloak and hat covered in yellow stars and had a gray, unruly beard.

"How?" I gaped at the careless use of powerful magic.

"That was nothing, so quit you boggling," Starswirl declared.

"Sorry," I shook my head to calm myself.

"So," Starswirl began, "You passed all three tests." He said it in a way that I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a question or not.

"Y-yes," I stammered.

"What did you learn from these tests?" He asked.

"The first one taught me that it is better to lead with kindness than it is to rule by fear and oppression. The second showed that choosing one source of power to rule with upsets the balance of Harmony and Chaos," I said quickly, "And the third explained that a true leader is willing to take punishment for the good of their followers."

"Good," Starswirl nodded, "Unfortunately, I cannot let you have the Rainbow Locket."

"What! Why?" I asked in shock.

"Another has already received the Locket," Starswirl sighed, "And I see darkness consuming your future…"

 **That's all for this chapter!**

 **So remember to let me know what you think, and I'll see y'all on the brighter side of everything!**

 _In Loving Memory of_

 _Jason "Starfox" Devani_

 _I'll never forget you bro..._


	22. Note: I am still alive!

**Yello everypony! I'm sorry if it's been so long since I last post a chapter, but I have hit a writer's block and have been unable to find a way past it. Don't be afraid, I am still writing my story and I will continue posting it, but until I can get past this block, I won't be able to post the next chapter. In the meantime I will keep posting updates to let you know I'm still working on the story. Let's see, today's May 6th, so I'll post updates each Monday until I finish the chapter. In the meantime, check my deviant gallery for periodic art uploads at:** **dawnfrostflitter/gallery/**

 **Anyway, I should probably get to work on writing ideas, I'll see y'all when I next post!**


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